Wayfinder
by Xethear
Summary: Time is both powerful and fragile, but most of all precious. When separation for two childhood friends shatters their bridge of connections, will a simple reunion be enough to make amends? The journey of two seeking to find what they have lost through the test of time and how their lives have changed with the other's absence.
1. That One Rainy Day

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

Xethear: Hello everyone, with the recent release of Kingdom Hearts 2.5 and with it my favorite addition of the series – Birth by Sleep, I had the urge of writing about another pairing, putting some of the characters in a different light. Without further ado, I present "Wayfinder."

Note: "**D-Links**" marks a scene skip in the story.

**Chapter I: That One Rainy Day**

"_What're ya cryin' for?" A young boy with jet black hair as dark as a raven's feathers questioned a lone girl sobbing on the playground swing set. The boy tapped his foot against the ground impatiently getting annoyed at the girl for using up his time. He clicked his tongue and snarled when he felt drips of his freshly bought sea salt ice cream run down his hand. "Darn it! You see what you did?" _

"_I-I'm *sniff* sorry." The girl managed to say through her sobs. She wiped the small marble like tears that rolled down her cheeks with the sleeves of her blue sweater and hung her head low so that the boy wouldn't see. _

_The boy scratched his head and sighed, "Here, it looks like you could use this more than me…" He reluctantly handed the girl the melting stick of ice cream with a small frown on his face. The girl slowly raised her head and looked up at the boy and fixed her deep aqua eyes to his vibrant gold irises. _

"_S-So pretty…" She murmured softly as she saw her reflection with his mystifying golden orbs._

"_Well?" _

_The boy's voice snapped the girl out of her small reverie and she absently responded with a "Huh?" _

"_Are you gonna take it or not?" He questioned sounding more annoyed with each word that leapt out of his mouth. _

"_B-But I—"_

"_Go on, take it!" Without waiting for the girl's answer the boy quickly thrust the light blue hued ice cream into her small hands before sitting in the vacant swing set next to her. "You better eat it before it melts." The boy licked the small amount of ice cream still left on the back of his hand and savored the salty and sweet union. _

_Little to his knowledge, his small act of kindness actually relieved the girl of a bit of her burden evident to the small smile she hid from him. "Thank you…" She murmured in an almost inaudible voice._

"_So, why were you crying in the first place?" The boy asked curiously; it was obvious he didn't hear her thanks. He pushed himself off the ground setting the swing in motion as he waited for yet another answer from the girl. _

"_Well… it's…" The boy noticed the girl clench the popsicle stick holding her ice cream together with both hands causing them to shake as fresh tears trickled down her face. _

"_You can tell me. I'll listen." Surprised by the boy's statement she looked at him with hopeful eyes and saw him staring at the sky painted a glowing orange by the sunset. _

"_My little brother, I have to go to the hospital and—"_

"_Well lookie here guys, it's the weirdo!" Several kids suddenly approached and surrounded the girl sitting on the swing set. _

_One of the kids with blond hair wearing a skullcap stepped up and stood in front of the girl. "Hey weirdo! Do. You. Remember. Us?" Several kids behind the "leader" snickered at the man's taunts. _

_The boy with jet black hair noticed the girl tighten her grip on the ice cream and drop her head low so that her face became masked by her deep blue locks. _

"_She's so weird huh Seifer?"_

"_Yeah, the weirdest! I mean check out that hair!"_

"_She's always here by herself and doesn't even talk much." _

"_Weird and borin— ack!" The boy wearing the skullcap suddenly found himself facedown onto the floor. The boy with jet black hair had sucker punched the bully and pinned him to the ground. "H-Hey guys! Who is this— mmrrrph!" The boy's face was roughly shoved into the ground muffling his speech. "Gerimoffofme!" He shouted and struggled to get free of the other boys hold. _

"_B-But Seifer, i-it's Vanitas!" _

_The sound of the boy's name seemed to instill fire into the other boy. "So that's it huh? Get off me Vanitas and fight me for real! None of this kid surprise attack stuff!" _

_Surprisingly the boy with jet black hair addressed as Vanitas complied and backed away from the boy allowing him to get up. _

"_Darn it! Now my new hat is all dirty! Why'd you go and do that you… you chicken wuss!" The boy named Seifer pointed a finger at Vanitas. "You're going to pay for this!" _

_Vanitas remained silent and instead raised his balled fists up to his face causing the kids behind Seifer to cower in fear. Among the well-known kids in Radiant Gardens there was one specific child known as the embodiment of darkness. The abandoned child with jet black hair and golden eyes always seemingly living in the shadows. The notorious delinquent and closet do-gooder Vanitas. _

"_Think you're so cool?" Seifer puffed out his chest. "I'll take you down! HRRRRAHHHH!" The boy barked his "battle cry" and charged after Vanitas and was almost instantaneously sent back to the ground. Without a call from their leader the other kids joined in on the brawl. _

_The girl with deep blue hair and gentle aqua eyes watched in complete shock as the bullies and the boy exchanged rough punches shoves and name callings. The aftermath resulted in the bullies running away vowing payback on a battered and exhausted Vanitas in a future brawl. Despite being victorious in battle, Vanitas felt completely drained and fell to the ground and stared up at the sky. _

"_O-Oh no!" The girl exclaimed and ran to the boy's side. "W-Why did you get into a fight?! Now your hurt and, and—!" The girl began to sob uncontrollably once again showering Vanitas's cheeks with her marble tears. _

"_Because that face you made was annoying." The girl held back a sob and hiccupped. "Would ya quite crying already?" Vanitas snapped in an aggressive tone. _

"_B-But I—"_

"_Carry me to the hospital." Vanitas interrupted in the middle of the girl's apologies. _

_The girl looked slightly taken aback as she held back another sob. "W-What?" _

"_You were going there anyways right? Might as well go together." It took a moment for the girl to realize that in addition to taking care of the bullies, the boy had also decided to accompany her to the hospital. "C'mon, I hate the hospital too, let's get it over with." _

_The girl began to choke up upon realization of the boy's kindness and immediately helped him up to his feet. They hobbled together towards the direction of the hospital near the park; the girl struggling but persevering to hold the boy up. _

"_Aww… you let it melt! That's the last time I'm giving you any of my ice cream." The boy remarked in a proud and arrogant yet teasing manner. For the first time he was with her the girl finally smiled and laughed at the boy's comment. Vanitas blushed when he saw the girl's smiling face with her cheeks flushed a light red. "D-Don't smile like that." He said shyly and pinched the girl's cheek. _

"_Owww." The girl puffed out her cheeks and gave the boy a small pout. "What was that for?" _

"_Y-You were making a weird face!" Vanitas retaliated swiftly by raising his voice. The girl laughed again and almost lost her balance. "There you go again!"_

"_Aqua" The girl murmured. _

"_What?" Vanitas responded not sure what the girl had said. _

"_I-I'm Aqua." She clarified in a soft tone. "Thank you for helping me… umm… Va- Vani?"_

_The boy's blush grew more vibrant at the embarrassing why the girl tried to recall his name. "TAS! Vani-TAS! Not just Vani! Sheesh, get it right." _

"_I-I'll remember!" Aqua stuttered nervously. _

"_Hmph!" Vanitas stuck his head up proudly and walked with Aqua feeling slight warmth in his core from the girl's smile. _

_The two idly walked to the hospital taking their time as they got used to one another's support and passed the time by getting to know one another more. _

"_What?! No way, you can't be older than me! I mean you're such a crybaby!" Vanitas blurted out paying little attention to his insensitiveness. _

_The girl looked up at him with an intense stare and nodded at him. "It's true! I'm eleven!" _

_Vanitas tossed his head away from the girl, closed his eyes and arrogantly stuck his chest out trying to look tough. "I can't believe you're a year older than me." _

_Aqua noticed from the tone of Vanitas's voice that it sounded like he was jealous causing her to giggle._

_Vanitas cracked one eye open and caught a glimpse of the girl's smile. 'That suits you way more than crying.' He thought to himself discreetly. Just then he felt a drop of rain on his nose and sure enough more began to follow. "Ack! C'mon let's go!" _

"_Nn!" Aqua agreed with a nod, yet despite being caught in the rain the two were smiling. _

**-D-Link-**

Vanitas groaned as light shimmered through the small opening of the curtains hanging from his window. The small ray of light had conveniently shined against the young man's eyelids causing him to turn opposite his window and bring the covers over his head. His desire for more rest was quickly lost when an alarm clock blared inside the sanctuary that was his room.

"For the love of—!" The man violently flailed in his bed kicking the covers off his body and quickly slammed his hand down on the alarm clock silencing its shrill voice. Vanitas scratched the back of his head irritably and clicked his tongue. "Tch… so much for sleeping in today…" The exasperated man let out a loud yawn and headed to the restroom at a still half asleep. His drowsy reflection stared back at him in the mirror showing how much of a restless night he had. His hair was a mess of jet black spikes and the faint dark marks under his eyes told him he indeed needed more sleep. "What a pain…"

As he released another yawn Vanitas opened the medicine cabinet and automatically reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste on the second shelf. Still half asleep he lazily brushed his teeth as he began to nod off over the sink.

"_I'm sorry, we just can't take him."_

"_We know he doesn't get along with the other kids but please reconsider!" _

"_We're really sorry but I don't think it'll work out." _

'_That's what they all say… I'll never leave this place.' A young Vanitas thought to himself as he stared out the window of the orphanage. The dark clouds appearing in the bleak and dreary sky became the harbinger of another storm. 'Why…' Vanitas press his small balled fists against the cold glass and felt tears trickle down his face. 'Why doesn't anyone want me?'_

Vanitas shook his head and doused his face with a splash of cold water, washing the memory down the drain. After a quick shower the man exited the bath, wiped the remaining drops of water off his body, put on a fresh pair of pants and hung a towel around his neck before entering the kitchen. The small space didn't contain much: a stove, refrigerator, a few cabinets, a sink and a trash bin all sharing one particular feature – a monotone grey color. Despite its simplicity it was enough to satisfy Vanitas.

The man grabbed a bowl and spoon from one of the cabinets and opened another to retrieve a box of cereal. He crammed the items under one arm before opening the fridge to get the milk – an easy task to accomplish since it was one of the few items inside the storage container. After grabbing the gallon with his free hand Vanitas shut the refrigerator door with a light kick and spread out the makings for his breakfast out on the small coffee table in the living room of his apartment. The bleak cloudy sky seen from the window only enhanced the dreary colors of the monotone room, yet it didn't seem to bother Vanitas.

After pouring a complimenting amount of cereal and milk into his bowl, Vanitas turned the tv on and took ate a spoonful of his breakfast, sighing at the plain taste of the cardboard like bits. The perky weather girl named Selphie bounced on screen with excitement which was an ironic contrast to the cloudy weather she was talking about. "There's a 75% chance of precipitation today so don't forget to bring an umbrella with you if you leave the house!"

"Rain never really bothered me." He said in a matter-of-fact tone to himself as if striking up a conversation with an imaginary companion. "What does bother me though is when weather gets bipolar. First waking me up with some sun and then turning cloudy." The spoon clinked against Vanitas's empty bowl once he had finished his cereal and he immediately dumped the dishes in the kitchen sink. He glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall and read it to be 7:30 a.m. "Just about time to head out."

Vanitas made his way back to his room at a leisurely pace and grunted as he kicked the door open. Walls void of posters or pictures welcomed the man with silence. Just like the other rooms in the apartment, there wasn't much inside his sanctuary save for the man's bed, dreaded alarm clock, carpet, desk, lamp, chair, closet and window. Vanitas slid his closet door open and retrieved his signature bistre colored shirt and black and red jacket emblazoned with a jagged heart of the same color scheme on the back. Once he equipped both articles of clothing, Vanitas slipped on his socks followed by his black boots and tapped his foot against the floor making sure they were fit. He grabbed his bag resting at the bottom of the closet and slung it over his shoulder before grabbing his motorcycle helmet. He stared into the large, pitch black visor and lost himself for a moment as memories replayed in his mind.

"_Oof!" The young Vanitas fell flat on his bottom against the cold slick surface of ice and slowly slid across the rink. "This is impossi—" Vanitas's temper tantrum was interrupted when he saw Aqua gracefully skate a full circle around him before stopping and offering her hand out with a warm smile. The young boy pouted and stubbornly refused and tried getting up himself only to fall back down. Aqua giggled and continued to hold out her gloved hand. After several more failed attempts the embarrassed Vanitas reluctantly took hold of Aqua's hand and was back on his feet. His legs wobbled as he tried to maintain balance and he held onto Aqua tightly for support. _

"_Start slow, one foot after the other." Aqua directed and demonstrated her graceful footwork for the boy to follow. The chilly winter air gave Vanitas's breath a misty appearance as he persevered to skate and his efforts were being rewarded. He soon found that he was slowly sliding across the ice on his feet. The elation earned from his accomplished brought a bright laugh to escape his mouth. _

"_Yes! T-This isn't so hard." Vanitas spread his arms out in order to help his balance and continued to slide across the ice when a thought occurred to him brought about by the closing distance to a wall of snow. "A-Aqua?! H-How do I stop?!" _

"_Oh no! I forgot!" Aqua quickly dashed towards Vanitas in order to show him how to stop, but ended up colliding with the boy instead sending them both toppling over the snow pile. Aqua pushed herself up and shook her head clearing the small tufts of snow out of her hair. "Van?" She looked around for a sign of the boy in the white blanketed wonderland but found no sign of him. "Van?!" She repeated._

"_Hrrrmph!" The sound of the boy's voice muffled by snow caused Aqua to look down and yelp. _

"_I'm sorry!" She apologized quickly and rolled off the boy who had been face down in the snow. _

_Vanitas emerged from the pile and gasped for air. He narrowed his eyes at Aqua who held her hands over her mouth; she was trying to keep from giggling at his messy appearance. _

"_Funny huh?" Vanitas gathered some snow into his hands and compacted the soft substance into a ball and hurled it at Aqua's face causing her to shriek as she fell back into the snow. "Hahaha!" Vanitas clutched his side when Aqua rose up revealing her snow covered face. _

"_Hey…" She pouted and threw a larger snowball at the boy and before they knew it, they were caught in a battle of snow and laughs. _

Vanitas shook his head and walked out the room and shut the door. He leaned against the door and took a deep breath to collect his thoughts before grabbing the keys to his motorcycle and exited the apartment. The man sat on the seat of his motorcycle before putting on his helmet and jammed the key inside the vehicle's ignition. The motorcycle roared with life once Vanitas turned the key causing it to spew smoke out the exhaust pipe. He revved the engine causing the motorcycle to growl before taking off onto the road at a steady pace. The cold wind felt refreshing against his body and the dark foreboding clouds overhead didn't worry him in the slightest. He was like a shadow on the vacant roads only becoming visible to townsfolk on the sidewalk at traffic lights.

He could feel the eyes of the townsfolk fall on him whenever a red light would halt his progress. He could almost hear the muffled murmurs and the suspicious comments. He wasn't seen as a do-gooder nor as an upstanding member of society in the city of Radiant Gardens, rather he was judged as a delinquent for the frequent brawls he would get himself into; though despite his rough exterior, there were some who acknowledged his helpful efforts to those in need.

Vanitas rounded a corner of the street and entered Radiant Garden's central plaza which was a hub of activity. The job request board that freelancers swarmed was located next to the candy shop which was run by an elderly woman who lived with her cat. It wasn't hard to miss thanks to its vibrant color scheme (which bothered Vanitas at times) and that it was the only small shop amongst a sea of other buildings. Vanitas pulled up next to the shop and removed his helmet; he couldn't believe his eyes, a swarm of freelancers had crowded over the request board and tore down any job requests they could get their hands on before taking off. _'How did they get here so fast? Didn't I leave early?!' _

Vanitas ran towards the crowd and saw everyone reaching for the last board request. He figured that if he shoved his way through he'd be able to get to it first but just as he was about set to the plan of action he noticed the elderly woman timidly calling out to the crowd hoping to get someone's attention. Vanitas looked at the job request and then to the old lady. With a reluctant sigh he gave up on the request and strolled over to the old woman with his hands in his pockets. "What happened granny?"

The old woman looked up and smiled, "Ohh, Vanitas! I'm sorry, but Mr. Tabby has gone missing again. Ever since we moved here from Twilight Town he's been very restless." The worried frown appeared on the old woman's face once again. "I tried to ask someone for help but they all seem too busy."

"The furball again huh?" Vanitas sighed and began to walk away from the old woman. "I think I know where he is, I'll be back granny."

The old woman's face brightened, "Thank you Vanitas! Such a good boy."

Vanitas waved his hand, "Yeah yeah…" The man walked across the street to a fish market run by a man named Wakka and rounded the back of the building. Numerous boxes and trash bins emitted the metallic smell of fish which was a popular perfume for a certain cat. Vanitas noticed a thin grey tail disappear inside one of the trash bins which confirmed his suspicions. "I saw you. Get out here Tabby."

A lazy meow echoed off the walls of the trash bin before a grey furry head with glowing green eyes appeared over the container's rim. The cat had been gnawing on the remains of a discarded fish. "Alright furball…" Vanitas picked the cat up by the scruff of its neck and glared at him with his glowing golden irises, "Granny's been worried about you. Quit scouting for food off on your own."

Trying to keep positive that there were still more requests available, Vanitas hurried back to the candy shop with Mr. Tabby in hand and placed him on the shop counter as soon as he got to the store window. "Here he is granny."

"Mr. Tabby!" The old woman coddled the cat and thanked Vanitas with small bows. "Thank you Vanitas. Oh! Here a little something for you." The old woman turned around and disappeared behind another door.

"That's alright granny, I need to check something out." Vanitas called out to the old woman but didn't receive a response. The man sighed and ran to the request board, but just as he feared it was completely empty. "Tch…" Vanitas kicked the post in frustration and returned to the front of the candy shop feeling frustrated.

"Here you go Vanitas." The old woman beckoned the man over and thrust a small, neatly wrapped gift box into his gloved hands.

Vanitas shook his head, "It's alright granny. I found the ol' furball cause I wanted to. No pay necessary."

Despite the man's rejection the old woman shook her head. "Nonsense! You helped me more times than I can count. Go on and take it. This is my job request!"

Vanitas couldn't believe what he was hearing. He paced around for a moment and let out a sudden laugh, "I guess I'll accept then." The old woman smiled and nodded. "Alright, thanks granny. Off to shop for some grub. I'm getting tired of cereal for breakfast."

"I'll see you some other time then; Mr. Tabby too!" The cat responded with a small yawn before curling into a ball.

Vanitas scoffed and narrowed his eyes at the cat. "No more wandering off." He said to the lazy feline before walking back to his motorcycle. After putting his helmet back on Vanitas brought his motorcycle back to life and sped away to the marketplace.

Street signs hanging off the branching beams of traffic lights were reflected off Vanitas's visor as he came to another halt at a red light. "Great…" Vanitas clicked his tongue in frustration; the traffic light he was currently suspended by was notorious for taking at least five minutes before shifting lights. The young man drummed his fingers against the dashboard impatiently and kicked loose pieces of gravel on the road. He dug one hand in his coat pocket and was surprised to come into contact with something. He grasped the item of interest in his hand and withdrew his hand to find the gift box he was given just a few minutes ago. "Oh right… can't believe I forgot already." The small pale pink box wrapped in a sea blue ribbon suddenly sent Vanitas on another journey to the past.

"_Happy Birthday Van!" Aqua cheered and blew a party blower into the young boy's face. "Fourteen years old!" Vanitas pouted and leaned against the wooden walls of the tree house he lived in earning a curious look from Aqua. "What's wrong?"_

_Vanitas scowled and leaned against the window as his feelings of bitterness continued to grow. His best friend was leaving the city on his fourteenth birthday. Despite knowing that the reason was related to her father's job, he couldn't help but feel selfish. Unfortunately for the stubborn boy the wooden window sill was large enough to accommodate a view for two so Aqua leaned against the window right next to him. Ironically since the time they met their roles slowly switched to where Aqua became the guardian figure to Vanitas. She was even several inches taller than the boy. _

_Vanitas buried his face in his arms not wanting to look at his friend. "Why do you have to go?" His voice was slightly muffled. _

"_You already know the answer to that Van, it's a family thing." She ruffled the boy's hair and gave him a smile when his gold irises poked out from under his arms. "Now look who's the crybaby." She said with teasing sarcasm. _

"_I'm not crying!" Vanitas shouted. He turned his back from Aqua causing her face to become sullen. "If you're gonna go, just go then!" _

"_Van…"_

"_J-Just go!" Vanitas sniffled and huddled by the wall of the tree house trying to drown out his sobs inside the barrier he created for himself with his arms. The gentle embrace of his friend only racked his body with shivers as he felt the rare sensation of tears return to his eyes. The rain beating down against the roof muffled his outburst of wails for his friend. _

The sound of a horn blaring behind him caused Vanitas to snap out of his journey to his past; the light had turned green.

"Hey c'mon! Get a move on!" The anonymous driver barked.

"Tch…" Vanitas's fingers twitched with frustration causing a shadowy aura to swirl around his hand. _'No!' _Vanitas shook his hand and revved up the bike and sped away leaving a plume of dust in front of the car behind him. _'What are you thinking?! That weapon is only to be used during jobs.' _

The large sign above the market framed by images of various food items soon came into view – Farm Fresh Produce from the Hundred Acre Wood. Thankfully Vanitas found a parking spot close to the entrance of the store – he didn't feel like walking a long distance to and from his motorcycle after shopping.

Once Vanitas had entered the store he instinctively grabbed a grocery basket by the automatic sliding doors and made his way down the packed lunch aisle which was usually always vacant as the other shoppers desired to purchase fresh produce as advertised by the market. He browsed the two packed lunches available to him: cold chicken with a salad and the last pack of seafood special decorated with a sticker of the silhouette of a honey pot – the icon of the marketplace. Needless to say, Vanitas grabbed the seafood special. The sound of the container dropping into his basket produced a feeling of satisfaction in the man only enhanced by the thought that it was the last special of the day.

Vanitas rounded the corner of the aisle after grabbing a bottle of Rocket Soda when a piercing scream cut through the air.

"HEARTLESS!"

A stampede of people ran passed Vanitas in a panic as the loud sound of a crash came from another aisle; a shelf had just been toppled over. The disoriented crowd paid little attention to the lone shopper causing them to knock the basket out of his hands and stomp all over his food.

Another loud crash followed the first drawing the store's attention to the intruder. Yellow beady eyes sitting atop a large jagged mouth appeared over another shelf as the beast planned its next chaotic action. Three tendrils highlighted magenta branched from its spherical body knocking packs of merchandise off of shelves.

"I-It's a _Darkball_!" One of the shoppers shouted in a panic.

The clamping sound of the monster's jaws opening and closing caused an infant sitting in a shopping cart shielded by his mother to wail and cry. "Shh, shh, shh! It'll be okay."

The Heartless immediately jerked its head towards the direction of the mother and child causing the parent to freeze. The monster uttered a gargling cry only causing more fear to manifest inside the shoppers. Their fear was only fueled further when two magenta stars emitting a ghastly black smoke appeared beside the Heartless giving way for two more Darkballs to emerge.

The mother let out a shriek and hugged her child protectively.

"Someone do something!" A bystander cried out.

"We can't! We don't have the equipment to combat that thing!"

"Hey! Don't push me towards it you jerk!"

"Coward!"

A vein pulsed across Vanitas's forehead as he reached his breaking point. "SHUT UP!" The man commanded with a growl. In a flash of monochrome, the man materialized the bane of Heartless into his hand, the Keyblade.

Vanitas was one of the unique individuals with the capabilities to dispatch Heartless giving him opportunities to earn lots of munny given the opportunities.

Obsidian chains wrapped around the weapon's silver blade and black and red prongs decorated the "key's" teeth. A gem colored pale aqua was embedded into the weapon's hilt becoming one of the blade's most defining features. Its ominous appearance was only complimented by the dark air it emitted.

Vanitas stabbed his keyblade against the floor and ran towards the Darkball centered amongst the three carving a scar into the laminate tile showering sparks behind his path to vent out his frustration. As soon as he closed the distance between the monster and himself he brought his weapon up in an arc over his head cleaving the beast in two causing it to vanish into a heap of black smoke. "You… you ruined my lunch."

As if ignoring Vanitas's existence completely the two remaining Heartless charged after the woman and child with their mouths wide open displaying their rows of shadowy dark teeth. "Don't ignore me!" Vanitas shouted and threw his keyblade at the Heartless dispatching both monsters simultaneously. The man's keyblade struck the wall inches away from the woman's traumatized face before vanishing in an ironic explosion of light sparks.

Vanitas scratched his head and clicked his tongue. "You okay?" He reached his hand out to the woman but she quickly smacked it away.

"G-Get away from us!" Her voice was shaky. "I-It's because of you that those things are here weren't they?!"

Vanitas's lip twitched with annoyance as he retracted his hand.

"H-Hey, that's Vanitas."

"Don't Heartless appear wherever he goes?!"

"Yeah! This is his fault!"

"Get out of here!"

"You put us all in danger!"

Vanitas stood up straight and faced the crowd with boredom plastered across his face as they pelted him with groceries. He was bombarded with packages of chips, boxes and a myriad of fruits and vegetables which stained his clothes and face, yet he simply walked away back to the packed lunch aisle. "What a waste of food."

Vanitas stared at the cold chicken and salad in the freezer which mocked him saying that now he didn't have a choice but to select it to become his lunch. "Damn it…" He muttered and kicked the bottom of the freezer in frustration.

"I'll just take this." Vanitas said bluntly and slammed the container down onto the conveyer belt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, but before he could pay for his food the cashier simply stuffed the container in a plastic bag and handed it to Vanitas.

"Just take it." She said without looking at the man.

Vanitas shrugged and took the bag from the woman's hands before exiting the store. "Just great…" He murmured to himself as he watched rain shower down from the skies. "And me without an umbrella." He commented to himself with a sarcastic laugh. The man tightened his grip around the flimsy holes of the plastic bag and walked back to his motorcycle. He groaned when he sat on the soaked seat and decided it was just his unfortunate luck. As soon as his food was secure in the motorcycles back compartment Vanitas left the parking lot leaving the store behind him. As he sped down the road he had a gnawing feeling in the back of his head to go to the park so he did just that.

The black motorcycle pulled up to the park gates and sighed when Vanitas cut the engine. His boots tossed water into the air as he walked through puddles carelessly and almost instinctively he found himself at the swing set. Disregarding the wet seats he sat down on one of the swings and plopped his cold chicken and salad on his lap. He tapped a sealed plastic fork against the rough material of his pants freeing the utensil inside and poked at the bland looking chicken inside. He was just about to take a bite when he saw Mr. Tabby looking up at him. "What the heck are you doing here furball?"

The cat simply mewed and rubbed it's face before returning its attention back at the chicken on Vanitas's fork. The man shook his head and sneered at the cat, "No. This is mine. Now beat it you wet sack of fur." Vanitas brought the fork back to his mouth but couldn't bring himself to eat. "Would you quit staring at me?!" He barked at the cat who had inched closer to the man. Mr. Tabby continued to stare at Vanitas with his forest green eyes until finally Vanitas tossed the container to the ground. "Go on! Take it then! I wasn't hungry anyways."

The cat mewed once more before approaching the container and feasted on the food. "Stupid cat." Vanitas muttered and threw his jacket over the cat. "You're getting wet from the rain." Vanitas shook his head and sighed. He brought his elbows to his knees and hung his head low feeling the cold drops of rain bombard the nape of his neck. He closed his eyes feeling somewhat relaxed when all of a sudden, the cold rake of drops stopped. "What the—" Vanitas looked up and saw he was faced to face with an alluring shade of blue sea salt ice cream hovering in front of a pair of gentle aqua eyes.

"_It looks like you can use this more than me…"_ The familiar voice spoke out causing Vanitas eyes to widen. He simply watched as the woman standing in front of him thrust the ice cream into his hands with one hand while the other held an umbrella over him. "Seven years huh? How did I know you were going to be here? You look like a mess."

**End Chapter**

Xethear: Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and like always with the start of a new fanfic, feedback, reviews and thoughts are very much appreciated.


	2. Monochrome

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me!

**Chapter II: Monochrome**

Aqua's foot tapped against the carpet floor impatiently as she stared out the window of the plane. Despite the weather forecast reporting there to be rain she was in bright spirits.

"You're in a cheery mood." The man sitting next to the woman commented when he saw her smile reflected off the glass of the window. Aqua turned to her left and nodded, "We're going back to Radiant Gardens after all Terra."

The tall man with chocolate brown hair framing his broad face scratched his nose and let out a yawn. "I know what you're thinking, but don't get your hopes up. It's been seven years. Besides he was a troublemaker."

"That's not true." Aqua snapped sharply. "You know he's helped out people before and I hope you didn't forget that he helped Ven out in the hospital."

"He wasn't too thrilled about having his _darkness_ given to Ven…" Terra mumbled.

"Still he did. Not a lot of people have Ven's health condition. He needs to have that balance of _L__ight_ and _D__arkness Essence_."

Terra sighed and was about to speak when he noticed the food cart wheeled down the aisle. "Excuse me." He raised his hand drawing the attendant's attention. "Three Moogle Coffees please."

"Right away sir." The attendant politely responded before pouring the steaming beverage inside three cups. He placed a cap over each container and placed them on Terra's tray. "Anything else sir?" He asked courteously and awaited Terra's response.

"No thanks." He said with a smile and handed Aqua her cup of coffee who took it with a nod of thanks. The attendant returned the smile before continuing down the aisle with the cart.

After taking one sip of the comforting drink Aqua found her body slowly starting to warm up. She loosened the white scarf which had been resting around her neck and sighed against the rim of the cup. "That'll warm your core." Terra nodded before turning to his left to scan the aisles.

"Well it's about time." He said as a young man with gold blond hair came to their row of seats.

"Sorry, I lost my balance and dropped my toothbrush because of the turbulence." The boy explained and squeezed himself through the gap between Terra's knees and the seat in front of the man in order to reach his seat between the man and Aqua.

Aqua laughed and ruffled the young man's hair causing him to blush. "Ven you klutz."

The young man addressed as Ven swatted the woman's hand away gently and attempted to fix his blond windswept spikes. "D-Don't embarrass me." He murmured softly causing the woman to laugh again."

"So are you looking forward to seeing our old home Ven?" Aqua asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"Yeah! I want to see the playground again and stop by the candy shop with granny and Mr. Tabby." Ven cupped his hands around the cup of Moogle Coffee and allowed the beverage to warm his palms. "You think Vanitas will show us around?" He looked up at Aqua with a hopeful stare.

Aqua's gentle smile remained on her face, "I'm sure he will." She took another sip of her coffee and stared out the window. "I wonder what he's doing now."

"Probably got into another street rumble." Terra mumbled into his cup earning an eye roll from Aqua. "And Ven, aren't you too old to be calling Ms. Kairi 'granny?'"

Ven gave Terra a look which practically blurted out 'Are you kidding me?' "We've always called her granny. Everyone does! Ms. Kairi just sounds weird, especially since her granddaughter shares her name!"

Aqua nodded in agreement. "Yeah, since when did you become such a boring adult Terra? Granny would probably think you're _too_ stuffy now."

Ven chuckled, "Right?"

Terra narrowed his eyes at the two feeling constrained from being outnumbered two to one. "So immature… just wake me up when we get there." Terra muttered and jabbed a pair of earphones in his ears before shutting his eyes.

Aqua and Ven shared a grin and stuck their tongues out at the oblivious Terra.

'_Just a bit longer. How have you been?'_

**-D-Link-**

Vanitas stared into the familiar pools of deep blue that stared right into his heart and felt a painful twinge in his chest. The woman's smile, her locks damp from the rain, it was all too reminiscent of that painful day she left. Nothing seemed to have changed for that split second that they stared at one another. But for Vanitas, everything was different - after all, he could no longer trust his memories after his accident - and it soon became evident to Aqua as soon as he smacked the ice cream out of her hand sending it flying straight into the murky waters of a puddle. Without saying a word, Vanitas rose from the swing set, pulled his jacket off Mr. Tabby earning a hiss from the cat and headed back to his motorcycle.

Aqua stood in stunned silence, even the evident sound of rain was lost as she slowly turned her head and watched Vanitas's retreating figure in the distance. She looked down at her empty palm and felt a knot build in her throat. "H-Hey wait! Van!" She dropped her umbrella and was immediately bombarded by raindrops, but she didn't care, she simply chased after her childhood friend whose face had disappeared behind a dark screen which was his helmet visor. "Wait Van! It's me! I—"

Vanitas turned on the ignition of the motorcycle and revved the engine so that the roar of the bike competed with the metronome of the rain, completely drowning out Aqua's voice. He refused to look in her direction and immediately took off as soon as she reached the gate of the park.

Aqua wrapped her arms around her diaphragm and shouted after her friend at the top of her lungs, "VAAAAAN!" She watched as the retreating trail of red emitted from the man's taillight disappeared when he turned at a traffic light. Raindrops fell atop Aqua's face and mixed with the fresh tears that unknowingly began to pool and fall from her deep blue eyes.

Vanitas's vision became monochrome. Everything was black and white as feelings of negativity began to cloud his head. He slipped in an out of traffic ignoring the blaring horns and curse words people threw at him. As soon as he reached his apartment complex, he parked his bike, ran up the steps, jammed his key into the lock and slammed the door behind him. If not for the pitter patter of rain atop the roof of the apartment, the man would have been met with isolating silence. Vanitas yanked the helmet off his head and hurled it across the room causing it to crash against the opposite wall producing a loud thump. The advantage of having a bad reputation across town was that no one wanted to live next to him, thus he never received noise complaints. Vanitas leaned against the door and slid down to the floor with his head in his hands as his damp clothes chilled him to the bone. He simply sat unmoving as seconds turned into minutes, until finally he picked himself up without a word, walked into the restroom, ran a hot bath, stripped down and sank into the water.

**-D-Link-**

The tip of Aqua's umbrella dragged along the sidewalk with her feet as she made her way to Radiant Wishes Candy Shop with Mr. Tabby following close behind her heels. The mewing of the cat behind her snapped Aqua out of her melancholic daze and she managed to crack a small smile. "You know… you haven't changed much have you Mr. Tabby?" Aqua asked softly as she crouched down to scratch the cat's chin. She stroked the cat's damp fur and quickly unfolded her umbrella upon realization it was still raining. "C'mere you giant furball." She teased playfully and scooped the cat up with her free arm. "Let's get you back to granny. It's been a while since I've seen her too. I wonder if she has any Starry Sky Drops?" Aqua asked Mr. Tabby curiously as she recollected the fizzy sensation of the small candies. It was enough to momentarily distract her from her Vanitas dilemma as she quickly took off sprinting to the candy shop with Mr. Tabby securely tucked insider her coat.

"Hmm… this is different." Aqua remarked as soon as her eyes landed on the job request board nailed to the side of the candy shop. Every so often someone would snag one of the papers flapping in the wind and hurry out of the rain. "I guess that's one way to make some munny." Aqua shook her head and ran to the store window and rung the small bell placed on the counter several times.

"Hold on deary, I'm coming!" The familiar sound of the old woman's squeaky, sweet voice brought a bright smile on Aqua's face. Soon, granny's small hunched silhouette appeared behind the window of the door located in the back of the store and she hurriedly turned the doorknob in order to meet her customer. "What can I do for you today sweeti— oh— my word!" The old woman placed the spectacles which hung from her neck onto the bridge of her nose and smiled. "Why, my eyes weren't playing tricks on me after all. Haven't you blossomed into a beauty Aqua!"

"Hi granny." Aqua greeted with an embarrassed blush.

"Mrow!" Mr. Tabby poked his head out of Aqua's coat and hopped onto the store counter before shaking his body to dry off his fur, sending water droplets flying everywhere causing the two ladies to back away from the damp feline with a chuckle.

"There you are! You are such a handful. First Vanitas, now Aqua."

"H-Huh?" Aqua froze at the sound of the man's name. "Van was here granny?"

The old woman jolted up, "Oh I'm sorry deary, you must be freezing, come in, come in! We'll talk inside. Come now I've got a mug of Rockin' Crunch Hot Chocolate with your name on it."

"And… Starry Sky Drops?" Aqua murmured curiously earning another chuckle from the old woman.

"And Starry Sky Drops."

Aqua smiled and shuffled through the side entrance of the store. "Pardon the intrusion."

**-D-Link-**

Vanitas exited the restroom in a cloud of steam and grunted as the cold air of the living room pricked his bare chest. He hurried to his room and yanked his towel off his waist before tossing it over the plain chair which rested inside the crook of his desk. He slid his closet door open and retrieved a clean pair of sweats and a collarless long sleeved shirt and wasted no time slipping into the articles of clothing to escape the cold. Once fully dressed the man walked over to his desk, pulled his chair out, turned his desk lamp on and rifled through several drawers in search of a writing utensil.

The man sat rocking in his chair for several minutes and pressed his thumb against the clicker of the ballpoint pen – found under his bed – causing it to release and retract the tip from time to time. A blank piece of crinkled paper rested on the desk in front of him and every time he leaned forward to write something, he paused and ended up returning to his rocking.

Finally after he had grown tired of the monotonous sound of clicking, he pressed the pen against the paper and released an exaggerated sigh before scribbling at the top right hand corner of the sheet to get the ink going and then began to write.

**-D-Link-**

The bittersweet taste of hot chocolate caused Aqua to shut her eyes and breathe a sigh of satisfaction as she sunk into the soft rose red armchair positioned by the fireplace. She momentarily set her mug – which sported a silhouette of Mickey Mouse – down by the small desk which sat alongside the armchair and brought her knees to her chest before picking the mug back up. The light blue pajamas granny leant to her while her clothes dried by the fire, felt soft and warm. "The Moogle Coffee on the plane was good, but nothing beats granny's Rockin Crunch."

"You know how to flatter an old woman Aqua." Granny chuckled and looked down at Mr. Tabby who purred softly on her lap. "So how have you been deary? Are your _brothers_ well?"

Aqua nodded and took another sip of her hot chocolate. "We're all studying keyblade combat under our dad's tutelage. It's been tough but we're finally nearing final exams."

"Ohhh, that sounds like a big event!"

Aqua nodded, "It is! We fight several matches to determine who gets the Mark of Mastery on their diploma and dad won't be the only judge. If we make it, we'll be admitted into the Master Organization where we can take on stable jobs fighting off Heartless and protecting the peace."

"They have been getting awful restless. Haven't they?" Granny pursed her lips as she recalled a recent memory. "Why just last week, a whole lot of mischievous _Powerwilds _stormed into the shop and tried to take candy. If Vanitas hadn't been walking by, they might have gotten away with half of the store. Such a good boy."

Aqua's fingers curled around the mug as she hugged her knees closer to her chest. "Right… you mentioned Van before granny?"

"Hmm?" Granny responded absentmindedly. "Oh! Why yes! He was here earlier. He found Mr. Tabby for me. Did you see him before you went here?"

Aqua remained silent as she stared into the deep brown beverage inside her mug before finally responding with a small nod.

"Oh good!" Granny said with an excited clap of his hands. "What did he say? I remember you two would always run here during the afternoon when you were just tall enough to reach my waist. He was excited wasn't he?"

Aqua felt a knot build in her throat again. "N-Not exactly." She bit down on her lower lip earning a curious look from granny. Aqua tugged at the wooly blanket draped over her legs and twiddled her fingers around her mug. "He treated me…" Aqua paused trying to search for the right words to convey what had happened, "…like a stranger."

"Like a stranger…" Granny repeated sounding slightly downcast.

Aqua set her mug back down and wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. "He didn't talk to me. I guess… I should have known better. I didn't expect him to welcome me back with a smile and lighthearted joke after I left him all alone. But I never expected him not to acknowledge me. Maybe…" Aqua dug her fingers into the blanket and buried her face in the soft material. "Maybe he really does hate me."

Aqua felt like crying but she refused to tarnish her first get-together with granny with her tears. A sudden warmth at the back of her head caused her to look up. She stared up at granny's smiling face, "Nonsense Aqua." Granny reassured the young woman by stroking her head. "Vanitas has had his share of problems while you were away but he's still the same little boy deep down. Why don't you get some rest? We'll talk later when you wake up."

The warmth emanating from the room was the second push which coerced Aqua's heavy eyelids to slowly close. In a matter of minutes she was curled into a ball on the armchair with Mr. Tabby tucked under her arms.

**-D-Link-**

_Hey Aqua,_

_ You'll never guess what happened today. The furball got lost… again. Big surprise huh? Found him rifling through some garbage cans before I got him back to granny. Seriously she needs to put that walking pile of fuzz on a leash. Aside from that, no luck today with work; looks like I have to get to the job board at an earlier time seeing as how more pups are looking to make some munny. On the bright side, I did get a gift from granny – some Starry Sky Drops wrapped up in some small bright colored box that hurt my eyes. You went nuts over those candies. Not much new happened today. I did see a girl at the park today who reminded me a lot of you… but I know better. After all, you're… gone._

Vanitas gave the last sentence he wrote a blank stare. He raised his pen over the scribed surface as if to cross something out, but instead threw the pen back under the bed and stuffed the paper into an envelope. He slowly opened a drawer from his desk and pulled a thick collection of envelopes bound by rubber bands and dated the letter he had just written before slipping it into the pile. He froze and stared at the bound envelopes before clicking his tongue and dropped the letters back into the drawer.

After slipping on a pair of black socks, Vanitas walked out into the living room and immediately turned on the tv to be met with a program featuring battles in Olympus Coliseum. "We now have the lone samurai Auron against our reigning champ… the one, the only Heeeeerrrrrrculeeeeees!" The announcer boomed in the background as Vanitas opened the cabinets in his kitchen. The announcer's voice faded away as Vanitas stared at the lone bowl of instant noodles which rested on the lower shelf of his cabinet. With a reluctant sigh he took the bowl and tore of its plastic coat, opened the container partway and filled it with water according to the directions before putting it in the microwave to heat up for several minutes.

"Just another night at Vanitas manor." The man said to himself with a sarcastic chuckle.

**End Chapter**

Xethear: Thanks to those who read the previous chapter. Hope you all enjoyed this one as well and reviews and thoughts are much appreciated.


	3. Masquerading Memories

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

Xethear: Thanks to those who read and reviewed the previous chapter. Without further ado, here is the next!

**Chapter III: Masquerading Memories **

"My! How you all have grown. Do you still like sea-salt ice cream Ven?"

"What?! Are you kidding me?! I haven't had that in _ages_ granny! One please!"

Aqua's eyes slowly fluttered open when the sounds of idle conversation reached her ears.

Granny chuckled, "Coming right up dearie."

A loud yawn escaped Aqua's lips as she rose up from the armchair and stretched her arms. Mr. Tabby leapt off the woman's lap and stretched his body along the carpet and dug his claws into the soft fabric and uttered a stressed yawn of his own.

"Well now, look who's awake." Aqua turned to face the door leading to the front of the store and saw Terra leaning against the doorway. She blinked several times and opened her mouth to speak, but instead yawned once again. Terra rolled his eyes and walked over to Aqua and poked her forehead. "Do you have any idea how long Ven and I have been looking for you? Dad's not gonna like this you know."

"Good morning to you too." Aqua said with a small giggle.

Terra sighed and sat down in the chair across from Aqua. "Thank goodness our phone numbers are still the same. If it wasn't for granny calling the house, we would have been up all night looking for you."

Aqua suddenly perked up much to Terra's surprise and she gave him a mischievous grin. "You said _granny_~"

"Wha— I-I mean Ms. Kairi!"

"Oh please now Terra, calling me granny is just fine. No need to be a stuffy adult." Granny said with a smile and pinched an embarrassed Terra's cheek.

"Haha! Told you so!" Ven jeered before taking a bite of his light blue hued ice cream. "Mmm…" The young man hummed with satisfaction.

Aqua stared at the dessert in Ven's hand and felt a small twinge in her chest feeling a flood of memories flow inside her head from staring at the small memento of her past and present. She simply continued to stare at the ice cream earning a wary look of defense from Ven as he suspected she wanted a taste. "Hey!" The sound of Terra's abrupt call snapped her out of her transfixed gaze.

Aqua shook her head, "W-What?" she replied absentmindedly.

"You feeling alright? Granny said you were out in the rain last night. What were you doing?" Terra asked with a look of concern. His brow furrowed when Aqua fidgeted and remained silent. "By any chance it doesn't have to do with that _guy_ right?"

"He has a name." Aqua murmured softly.

"What?" Terra raised his brow nonverbally asking for clarification.

"He has a name!" Aqua repeated significantly louder.

"So it was his fault!" Terra rose from his chair, "That's it he's—"

"Actually Terra, Mr. Tabby got out again." Granny suddenly interrupted. "You know him and his curiosity. Aqua brought him home to me yesterday. She even housed him under her coat. He put her through quite the ordeal what with running in alleys and puddles."

Terra looked slightly dumbfounded after hearing Aqua's alibi and quickly directed his attention at Mr. Tabby who tilted his head at the man innocently. "You need to be kept on a leash you know that?"

Aqua turned to granny and received a knowing smile and wink from the elderly woman. Aqua smiled and mouthed the words "Thank you."

"Hey granny? There's a whole bunch of people outside the store." Ven informed the room after peering out of the shop window.

"Heavens! What time is it dearie?"

Ven bit down on the wooden popsicle stick keeping his ice cream suspended in his mouth as he dug his hands in his pockets to find his phone. "Erm… 7:20!"

Granny rubbed her chin and hummed, "They are even earlier today."

"They?" Aqua asked and rose from the armchair.

"Job seekers." Granny explained. "They go to the bulletin board to find what daily jobs are posted."

"Guess it's pretty tough out there freelancing huh?" Ven aimed his question to Terra who had joined the party at the front of the shop.

"Yeah, I feel pretty sorry for them. Look, there are so many." Terra sighed, "We can all relate though."

The four watched as people continued to swarm around the side of the shop, shoving their way towards the tattered job board. They blindly reached out and crumpled any piece of paper their fingertips touched before tearing it off the board and making a mad dash out of the frenzy.

"They're like animals." Aqua commented in disbelief.

The sound of a motorcycle in the distance caused everyone to turn towards the opposite side of the street as a figure dressed in mainly black attire approached the shop. Aqua's heart began to race as the sound of the motor grew louder and with it the figure came into clearer view. The same motorcycle and the same helmet donning the shadowy visor.

Ven let out a whistle, "Now that's a pretty cool bike!"

"Looks like another job hunter looking for—" Terra stopped midsentence as he saw the newcomer remove his helmet revealing a head of jet black spikes oriented in various directions, paired with a pair of gold irises.

"Hey…" Ven squinted raising his focus on the individual. "Isn't that—" Ven started identifying the man just as Vanitas took off his helmet but was interrupted by the candy shop's bell ringing above the door as Terra dashed outside.

"Terra no!" Aqua shouted after the man.

"YOU!" Terra roared catching the man off guard. Without hesitation Terra tackled Vanitas to the ground. "Leave Aqua alone you got that?!"

Vanitas gave Terra a blank stare but his demeanor quickly shifted as his brow furrowed and upper lip twitched. "GET OFF!" Vanitas snarled and roughly shoved Terra off his torso. He completely disregarded the man once off his body and immediately returned to the feeding frenzy of the job hunters as soon as he got on his feet.

"What the..?" Terra watched as the man disappeared inside the crowd of job seekers until his vision was obscured by Aqua's light blue pajamas.

"What in the world was that?!" Aqua scolded sharply. She glared at Terra with her hands folded across her chest and tapped her finger against her arm impatiently.

Terra rose to his feet and dusted off his pants. "Uhh I was telling him to stay away from you?" He responded sarcastically causing Aqua's eyebrow to twitch with annoyance.

"I never told you to—"

Ven quickly intervened and stepped between the two with his hands up, "Hey! No fighting! Are you two really going to do this in front of granny?" Terra and Aqua followed Ven's motion towards the candy shop and saw granny stepping outside.

"Is everything alright you two?" Granny asked hesitantly.

The two bickering opponents shared a look of guilt and released a sigh to vent out their frustrations. "No, it's alright granny. I just lost my temper is all." Aqua explained. "Terra turned into a real hothead somewhere along the way between his shift from adolescent to _stuffy adult_, so I need to keep him in check."

Terra scratched the back of his head feeling slightly embarrassed, "She's too nosy for her own good." He remarked earning a small chuckle from Ven who agreed to a certain extent.

"With good reason! If it wasn't for me, both of you would have been grounded for sneaking out to see the meteor shower during curfew!"

"Funny coming from the girl who was rendered speechless when she saw said meteors soaring through the sky." Terra countered earning an embarrassed blush from Aqua.

"Haha! You even stuck around to watch with us!" Ven added cheerfully only further embarrassing the woman.

"Anyways, shouldn't you change out of those pajamas?" Terra asked and pointed at Aqua's attire.

Aqua's cheeks turned beet red, she completely forgot she ran outside without changing. "A-Ahaha, right!" She quickly turned around not minding any of her surroundings and crashed into a person as soon as she took several running steps forward. "Ow… I'm sorry, are you oka—"

'_So… pretty' _

Aqua stared into the pools of gold which sent her back to the day on the playground. His eyes reminded her of the sunset they saw that day. "S-Sorry Van I…"

Vanitas maintained his stoic look of distance as he slowly helped the woman up off the ground. "Watch where you're going. You'll cause trouble for others." He remarked coldly before walking away leaving Aqua to stand alone once again.

"Hey!" Terra brought his hand down on Vanitas's shoulder and gave the man a rough tug. Vanitas spun around and dug his fingers into Terra's shirt and glared at him directly in the eyes.

"What's your problem?! I almost lost out on a job opportunity because of your stupidity! I _don't even know you,_ so leave me alone." He uttered his last sentence with venom and gave Terra a rough shove sending the man stumbling back a few paces before turning around to talk to granny, completely disregarding Ven. "Hey granny, thanks for the Sky Drops the other day. Look." Vanitas held up the coffee stained tattered piece of paper in his hands. "Got work today."

"How nice! Right up your alley as well isn't it? Give those Powerwilds a good one two for Mr. Tabby and I!"

"Hmph." Vanitas scoffed and shot Mr. Tabby a look before returning to his motorcycle.

Aqua watched as Vanitas sped away yet again, leaving her with even more questions.

"Come inside. I should start from the beginning." Granny told the three as she opened the door to the shop once again.

**-D-Link- **

Vanitas's motorcycle came to a rumbling stop in front of the Deep Jungle shipping dock where fresh produce packed for Hundred Acre Wood Market was being ransacked by a horde of Powerwild heartless. The mischievous monkey like creatures picked at wooden crates and discarded banana peels all around the shipping yard sending the supervisor Jane into a frenzy._ 'It might as well be a jungle.'_ Vanitas thought to himself silently.

"Let go of that, shoo, shoo!" She shouted angrily and swatted a Powerwild away with her clipboard. Deep brown strings of hair escaped her tight bun and streamed down over her face emphasizing her irritation.

Off to the distance Vanitas saw Jane's husband Tarzan swinging away at a crowd of Heartless with a wooden spear.

'_How… primitive.'_ The man thought to himself. "I'm here for this job." Vanitas informed Jane casually as he held up the paper to her.

"Oh! Why yes, thank heavens you're here. As you can see we've our mitts tied in knots with all these mischief makers prowling about. Help would very much be appreciated."

"And the pay?" Vanitas asked bluntly.

Jane blinked looking slightly confused. "Beg your pard— ah! Yes!" She rubbed her temples feeling slightly foolish. "I'm sorry; my mind is completely muddled at the moment; 100 munny and some produce to go with it!"

"Alright. We have ourselves a job." Vanitas said with a grin and immediately summoned his keyblade. "Hey, jungle man, I'm here to lend a hand." Vanitas announced as he slashed a Powerwild leaping for Tarzan's back causing it to vanish in a heap of black smoke.

The man spun around swinging his long, cocoa colored untamed locks with him and merely grunted at Vanitas. "I'll take that as a 'thanks.'" Vanitas murmured with a raise of his brow. He had to admit, fighting alongside a man wearing a suit and acting like a gorilla made things more interesting.

Vanitas ran around the dock several times taking out Heartless whenever they came in his line of sight. He leapt over crates, climbed support beams and even boarded a ship to find more of the Powerwilds causing chaos in the kitchen. "Damn pests!" Vanitas shouted as he pulled a Powerwild which had been yanking on his hair, off his head and tossed it across the ship deck. As soon as the last Powerwild was dispatched, Vanitas leapt off the ship and spat on the ground. "Tch… two hours. Longer than expected." Vanitas murmured to himself with disappointment as he looked at the clock displayed on his phone.

"Thank you so much!" Jane called out to Vanitas as she ran towards him with Tarzan beside her. He was carrying a small sack. "I don't know how long we would have been delayed for if you hadn't come by. Many many thanks—"

Vanitas stuck out his hand before the woman could finish her sentence. "Job is done. I'll take the money now." He demanded rudely earning a look of dissatisfaction from Tarzan.

"Yes of course." Jane reached into her brown purse and dropped ten small eight-sided die like objects colored yellow and blue into the palm of Vanitas's hand. "100 munny. And…" Tarzan handed Jane the small sack as soon as the woman trailed off, "…some fresh fruits and veggies!"

Vanitas flinched at the word "veggies" never really being a fan of the food group since childhood; but nevertheless he accepted since it was after all still food.

Once his rewards were safely tucked away in his backpack, Vanitas pulled a scarf out from the back and returned to his motorcycle. Before starting the vehicle back up, he wrapped the black muffler around his face taking note that he probably wouldn't be welcomed back at the store so soon and headed towards the market once his "disguise" was set up, in order to stock up on groceries – his usual noodle bowls and instant prepared foods.

As soon as Vanitas entered the market's parking lot he was met with the frustrating experience of locating a parking spot. He had spent fifteen minutes circling around the lot, muttering curses under his breath causing the inside of his helmet to fog up, until he located a car leaving just several lanes over to his right. "Finally!" Vanitas exclaimed and took off towards the spot. All of a sudden out of the corner of his eye, Vanitas noticed several other motorcycles enter the lot and head towards the leaving car. "Oh no you don't."

Before any of the newcomers could occupy the spot, Vanitas immediately cut the three off and kicked the stand of his motorcycle down claiming the small area for his own.

"Hey! What's the big idea?! That's our spot ya know!" One of the cyclists protested.

"Yeah, well I was here first idiot, so why don't you and your friends just—" Vanitas quickly stopped himself when the three strangers removed their helmets.

The one who had protested against Vanitas's intervention was a bulky man with short dark hair. His tanned skin was partially shielded from the elements save for his face and chest which was exposed due to several missing buttons at the top of his shirt.

"Rai…"

Vanitas was frozen as he shifted his gaze towards the burning red eyes of the second individual. The piercing crimson glare was a sharp contrast to her short unkempt icy blue hair. She tugged at the collar of her blue turtleneck and released a sigh. "H-Hey, _Aqua_, do you remember—"

"Fuu." The woman sharply interjected immediately silencing Vanitas.

"Aww c'mon now, don't be rude _Aqua._ Van is just playing nice, isn't that right chicken wuss?" The third individual threw an arm around Vanitas's shoulder and sneered at the man. "What's the deal with taking our parking spot Van?"

"Sorry, I figured it was someone else." Vanitas replied timidly.

"Someone else huh? Well it's not, so I guess you're gonna have to pay up." Seifer said with disdain as if it pained him to utter the words. Seifer snapped his fingers signaling Fuu to search Vanitas's pockets and she quickly found the item of interest – his wallet.

Vanitas looked up at Seifer and felt a sharp pain surge in his head as fuzzy flashbacks from childhood resurfaced. He recalled being at the park and Seifer being present. He recalled someone crying but couldn't recall the face.

"Hey!" Seifer shook Vanitas by the shoulder. "You having those weird flashbacks again? I told you already, those are just part of your _condition_ buddy. You gotta ignore them. Now c'mon, treat us to a meal. Aqua would like that." Seifer gave Fuu a wink who responded with an emotionless nod. "You see?"

"R-Right." Vanitas replied helplessly as Seifer tossed his wallet to Rai.

**-D-Link-**

"He's friends with Seifer?!" Aqua quickly rose up from her seat in disbelief almost knocking Ven's ice cream out of his hands.

"W-Whoa! Careful Aqua!" Ven cried out uneasily but earned no acknowledgement from the shocked woman.

"How could he be friends with him granny?! He tormented him when we were kids!" Aqua dug her fingers into the palms of her hands as she formed them into fists.

"It was all tied to that accident." Granny continued on with her story with a melancholic gaze into the fireplace. "It happened about two years after you all moved."

**-D-Link-**

"_Another boring day…" Vanitas murmured to himself as he gazed out the window of his treehouse. Thunderclouds were rolling in the distance. "I should just skip school today, after all it's great weather to go out and pick on some Heartless. Besides, no one would care if I miss another day." Vanitas grabbed his backpack and yanked the zipper open and overturned the bag causing all of its contents to fall to the wooden floor. A beat up textbook with torn pages fell open onto a random page displaying scribbles of stars in black ink; it was quickly accompanied by the clatter of several broken pencils, a smudged white eraser, a small leather notebook and a black pen. Vanitas gave the contents an intense stare and stuffed the notebook and pen back into his bag before slipping his arms through the straps. _

"_Right then." Vanitas placed his hands over the pane of the window and pushed himself up until one foot was placed on the wooden surface. Just as he was about to jump out, a crack of lightning in the distance followed by the bellow of thunder startled the boy causing him to fall out the window. Vanitas shut his eyes and braced for the imminent impact, but luckily someone caught him. _

"_Aren't you the energetic one." A hoarse voice croaked causing Vanitas to open his eyes. He felt an immediate shiver down his spine as soon as his eyes connected with another pair of irises that seemed to glow yellow. He was familiar of his own eye color from seeing his reflection, but staring into this man's eyes seemed different. It felt intimidating. Upon instinct, Vanitas flailed out of the man's arms and rolled onto the floor. _

"_Better not expect anything in return! I never asked for your help you—" Vanitas stopped midsentence and realized that his savior was but an old man, thin and fragile looking at that. His hunched figure made Vanitas assume the old timer had back problems, but the smug smirk on the old man's gaunt face told another story. His pointed ears, sharp nose, prominent brow and thin grey beard gave the old man an aged imp like appearance. "…you… old man!" Vanitas finally stuttered a finish. _

"_Hoho, sharp tongue and attitude to boot. You've got spunk I'll give you that." The old man took a step towards Vanitas causing the young man to step back and take the closest thing in the vicinity in his hand to use as a weapon to fend off the "imp" – a stick. The smirk never left the old man's face. "My name is Xehanort. Your school called me and told me you've been missing out on classes. That's no good now."_

"_What's it to you?!" Vanitas shouted defensively. _

_Xehanort uttered a guttural chuckle which caused Vanitas to flinch. It sounded like it hurt to laugh with the old man's scratchy voice. "It means quite a big deal to me. You see, I run a special school for… talented kids like yourself. You're special you see." _

_Vanitas raised his brow looking dumbfounded, "What're you talking about?! I'm just like every other person!"_

_Xehanort's eerie grin widened. "Are you sure about that?" _

"_Wha—" _

"_Have you ever experienced loneliness? The feeling that nobody wants you around?" _

_Vanitas felt a creeping sensation behind him, as if his shadow was crawling up his back. 'Is he from the orphanage?!' Vanitas shook his head vigorously. "I don't know what you're talking about!" He gripped his stick tightly and felt a sudden drop of rain on his nose. _

"_There's a reason for that you know." Xehanort continued despite Vanitas's defensive lies. "It's your Darkness." Vanitas had had enough and threw his stick at the old man who swatted the piece of wood away just in time to see the teen run pass him. "You'll return eventually." Xehanort uttered in his scraggily voice. The old man stared up at the ominous sky and smiled before unfolding his grey umbrella. "My kind of weather." _

_The sudden downpour of rain had Vanitas scrambling for shelter beneath food cart parasols and store awnings, only to be shooed away by whoever ran the place. "You're not stealing anything from me today!" One vendor shouted at the boy and spat in his direction. "Lousy thief." _

_Vanitas hissed at the vendor and ran inside another store across the road and quickly darted to the household appliances aisle before a store attendant could greet him. Shelves lined with cooking ware, kitchen ware and cleaning supplies sat in organized lines along the aisle. Vanitas dug his hands into his pockets and dragged his feet down the aisle, perusing the various wares. He came to a sudden stop and growled at his own reflection reflected off the pristine glass of a coffee maker and turned his head away. He recalled the time he and Aqua were shopping in the store for a frying pan and baking sheets because she wanted to cook something up for Ven's birthday party. He recalled her trying to look for the pan with the perfect "grip" and watched as she held pans of various colors in her hands, yet he saw that all the pans were nothing special. It brought a smile to his face to reminisce, but he was so occupied with his memories that he failed to see the man looming at the end of the aisle. _

"_Hey, boy. Shouldn't you be in school during these hours?" _

_Vanitas's brow twitched after hearing the stranger address him as "boy." He clicked his tongue, " Tsk… Who's asking?" He replied rudely and turned to face his opponent. _

_The stranger was a large man significantly taller than the adolescent boy; a broad and angular face sat beneath a mat of slicked back auburn hair. He was dressed in a navy blue uniform outlined with silver stitches. Vanitas counted a pair of five buttons lined down his chest making for a total of ten. The crest of a red heart was emblazoned on the collar of his uniform as well as the cuffs of his white gloves. "Officer Lexaeus." The man answered in his deep, rumbling voice. _

"_Heh, nice monkey suit." Vanitas jeered and made his way pass the man only to be halted when the giant placed his hand on his shoulder. _

"_I asked you a question." He met Vanitas's glare and narrowed his eyes. _

_Vanitas rolled his eyes and sighed. "Uhh no, school was cancelled today." He replied sarcastically earning a disapproving shake of the head from Officer Lexaeus. _

"_Come with me." The officer ordered and ushered Vanitas towards the automatic sliding doors of the store and out into the rain. _

"_Hey!" Vanitas spun around and smacked Lexaeus's hand away and growled. "Where do you get off pushing people around?!" _

"_I don't push people around. I __**order**__ troublemakers to get their act together." Lexaeus folded his arms across his broad chest. "Do I have to use force?" _

_Vanitas scoffed, "Piss off." Again Lexaeus shook his head. He reached out towards Vanitas and was met with a sharp kick to the stomach. "I said. Piss. Off." _

_Lexaeus grunted and shrugged off Vanitas's blunt strike. "Such a coward's method of fighting." The man took a deep breath and aimed the palm of his hand towards Vanitas's chest. Thinking he could withstand the blow, Vanitas stood his ground which he soon found to be a mistake when he was sent flying through the air into several trash bins. Mixtures of rotting food comprised of fish bones, banana peels and stalks of vegetables painted Vanitas's clothes along with discarded boxes and the lid of a trash bin. It felt as if he was just hit by a boulder. _

"_Stupid Earth Essence." Vanitas wobbled back up and continued to glare at Lexaeus; though the boy's body looked battered, his eyes never lost conviction. "You'd be running to your mommy right now if I could use Essence." He wasn't afraid. He never did back down from a fight before and he sure wasn't going to start then. _

"_GRRRAH!" Vanitas cried out and charged after Lexaeus. He kicked off the ground and leapt into the air and drove his fist into Lexaeus's face forcing the man to take a step back. 'I suppose that's some progress.' Vanitas told himself with a grin. _

"_Don't get cocky." Lexaeus barked back and this time, drove his fist into Vanitas's stomach knocking the wind out of his lungs. _

"_Lucky… shot…" Vanitas sputtered before falling limp over Lexaeus's shoulder. _

"_Hmph." Lexaeus wiped his cheek with the back of his gloved hand and flinched at the dirt which collected over the pristine glove. Not even the rain washed away the stain. "Tsk…" _

_The man marched down through the city plaza with Vanitas slung over his shoulder like a rucksack, when someone addressed him from a shop nearby. "Excuse me officer? Where are you taking that boy?" _

_Lexaeus turned to find an old lady waving at him from the inside of a candy shop. "None of your concern Ms. Just escorting a trouble maker back where he belongs." _

_Granny smiled and gave the large man a nod. "Good to see officer's upholding the piece." _

"_Thank you for the kind words." Lexaeus said with a small bow. "Now then, I—"_

"_But if you don't mind, could you leave that boy here? He promised to help organize my inventory and paint the walls of the shop!" _

_Lexaeus raised his eyebrow. "Excuse me?" _

"_Come now officer, its community service." Granny replied attempting to sway the man. "Better than locking him up I'd say." _

"_Yes well—" The sound of an object vibrating, followed by a melodic ring interrupted the man's sentence. Lexaeus dug into his breast pocket and produced a phone. "Lexaeus." He answered turning away from granny. "Yes… though I ran into a civilian… to leave the boy… But—! …Are you sure? …Alright then. Yes goodbye." Lexaeus sighed and shut his phone. "Where do you want the boy?" _

_It was granny's turn to raise her brow, "Oh? Why the sudden change of heart officer?" _

"_It's nothing." The man said with a grunt and held Vanitas by the back of his collar like a stray puppy. _

_The man earned a disapproving frown from granny before she shuffled over to the side entrance of the store. "Over her Mr. Lexaeus." Granny beckoned with a wave of her hand. _

_Lexaeus dropped Vanitas by the entrance and quickly turned around, "Make sure he doesn't get into any more trouble." _

"What the heck?!" Ven suddenly interrupted granny's tale. "That officer is a jerk!"

Terra pounded his fists together indignantly, "Troublemaker or not, he didn't deserve to be treated like a sack of garbage." The man glanced at Aqua and saw her dig her fingers into the cushion of the armchair in frustration. "Granny… does that officer still work here? He needs to be taught some morals." Terra held his right hand up and materialized a broad, dark brown keyblade out of digital cubes.

"Oh, no Terra, you know better than that." Granny said with a shake of her head.

"But he needs to be taught a lesson!" Ven joined in showing his obvious support for his "brother."

Aqua silently supported granny's decision by rising up from her chair and placing her hand over Terra's keyblade with a shake of her head. "It's… alright." She murmured softly. Terra flashed a look of disappointment before dispelling his keyblade. Aqua then turned her head to Ven and nodded.

"Urgh…" Ven plopped back down onto the carpet and crossed his arms.

"Please granny, continue." Aqua said softly.

"Needless to say… I couldn't stop Vanitas from getting into trouble…"


	4. Creeping Darkness

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

Xethear: Many thanks to those who read and reviewed the previous chapters. Glad to know people are intrigued with this tale. Here is the next chapter, hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave your thoughts about it after.

**Chapter IV: Creeping Darkness **

"_It's been two years since your little girlfriend left you. Grow up already!" _

_Vanitas grit his teeth as if he were a wolf baring his fangs and glared at the storekeeper that had been shooing him away from the premise. Oblivious to the young man at the time, a ghastly black smoke was being emitted by his fingertips which frightened the store keeper to quickly shut his store window. "No you don't!" Vanitas roared and pounded his fists on the frayed surface of the window shutters. "OPEN UP AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE AGAIN, I DARE YOU!" _

"_H-Hello? Officers?! Yes come quickly! It's that menace again!" Vanitas heard the panicked voice cowering behind the screen. _

"_Tch…" Not feeling up to a rumble with the officers, Vanitas decided it would be best to make himself scarce. _

_The young man walked along the sidewalks casually, but contrary to his appearance, he was on the lookout for any person dressed in a navy blue uniform. The skies were bleak and grey which forewarned rainfall. Vanitas dug his hands into the pockets of his faded black hoodie feeling the stinging cold of Radiant Garden's winter and continued onwards until he reached Hundred Acre Wood Market. The young man stepped through the automatic doors and felt relief from the cold as the warm, foreign air inside the store embraced him. Side conversations of shoppers buzzed over his ears indicating the store's liveliness. On instinct, the young man found that his feet had brought him to the packed foods aisle right in front of the shelf housing instant noodle bowls. 'Two for one special. Today only.' Vanitas's golden irises lit up after reading the special promotion labeled over the red colored packaging of the food items and immediately tucked two of the noodle bowls under his left arm. "I guess something good did come out of today—" The man's sentence was cut short when he pulled out and peered into the empty mouth of his wallet. He couldn't believe his luck. _

'_Today only.' He read the words again in his mind which fueled the fire of his anger. Though it seemed like something insignificant, it was the cherry on top to the rotten insults he was served throughout the day. It mocked him. "I at least deserve this." He decided and tucked the two noodle bowls under his hoodie. The grumbling in the young man's stomach further influenced his decision to take the bowls and he stretched out the fabric of his hoodie to make the containers seem less noticeable with all the sloppy folds he created. _

_Having his mind fully set on taking the bowls, Vanitas darted passed people pushing their shopping carts, kids whining to their parents because they couldn't get their sugary cereal, and lone shoppers flipping through decks of coupons as if they were dealers at a casino. People checking out their items along the numbered registers flew by Vanitas as he took off in a light jog towards the exit. The homestretch, he was nearly out the automatic doors when someone yelled his name from across the store. _

"_VANITAS!" The familiar voice bellowed causing the addressed young man to groan. "Don't move a step!" The voice ordered which drew the attention of the shoppers and registrars in the vicinity. _

"_What do you want Seifer?" Vanitas asked with a flat tone portraying his uninterest in whatever the conversation entailed. _

_The childhood bully who fought Vanitas on a weekly basis walked up to the lone individual and held his fists up in front of his face. "It's time for payback for the black eye you gave me last week!" The blonde shouted pointing to the impressive shiner still present over his right eye. _

_Vanitas rolled his eyes and turned around, "I don't have time for this." He answered quickly and headed out the door. He didn't want any unnecessary attention with the two noodle bowls cradled in his hoodie. Unfortunately for the man, Seifer wouldn't take no for an answer and tackled Vanitas to the floor causing Vanitas to fall forward and crush the bowls under their combined weight. _

"_Damn it Seifer!" Vanitas pushed his opponent off his body and shoved him against the wall before administering a series of body blows to the blonde. _

"_Augh! Q-Quit it!" Seifer pleaded, but contrary to his words, as soon as Vanitas slowed down, he head-butted the dark haired boy causing him to stumble back a few paces._

"_You piece of—" Vanitas charged again before finishing his insult and shoved his fist against Seifer's left eye guaranteeing another black eye. Seifer fell to his knees and cried out in pain. "Heh! I'm gonna have to call you raccoon eyes next time we meet." _

"_Grrr…" Seifer rose up once again and held up his fists. _

"_Want more?! C'mon then!" Vanitas challenged, but before any of them could make contact with another punch they were lifted off the floor by the collars of their tops. _

"_Hey! What's the big idea?!" Seifer kicked around only to be silenced with a sharp blow to the back of the neck. _

"_Seems as though that old lady couldn't protect you for long." A familiar rumbling voice told Vanitas. _

"_Just… friggin… perfect." Vanitas muttered as soon as he recognized Lexaeus's voice. "What can I do for ya today monkey suit?" _

"_Silence. You get no second chances." The man said mercilessly. _

"_What, I don't get a third strike?" Vanitas asked smugly. _

"_Your first strike was missing out on school, second was terrorizing that shop vendor – don't think we didn't get that complaint. And third is shop lifting." Lexaeus finished and shook the crumpled bowls out from under Vanitas's hoodie. _

"_My my, aren't we the ace detective." Vanitas remarked sarcastically feeling his blood start to boil. _

_Lexaeus turned to the man holding up Seifer; a man equal in build but with long black dreadlocks sealed in a form of ponytail. Broad, hook like sideburns framed his face like small dark anchors, which enticed a snicker from Vanitas. "Xaldin, take that one to the Master and Vexen. I need to make a stop at a candy shop first." _

"_I never took you for the sweet tooth type." Xaldin commented with amusement. _

_Lexaeus disregarded his fellow officer's words and escorted Vanitas out the store first, but had his fair share of difficulty as Vanitas lived up to his name of "menace." The young man writhed his way out of Lexaeus's hold and immediately took off in a mad dash to wherever his feet could take him. "Hey!" He heard Lexaeus shout behind him quickly followed by the sound of the man's boots hitting the pavement as he gave chase. _

"_Catch me if ya can monkey suit!" Vanitas yelled over his shoulder and disappeared through an alley. If there was one advantage of having a lot of free time to explore, it was that Vanitas had an excellent memory of many pathways and shortcuts that littered the city. The agile boy leapt over trash bins and rolled under apartment fire escape ladders and laughed with complete joy when he heard Lexaeus clambering through the obstacles he had just so smoothly eluded. The mischievous dark haired youth then slowly brought his sprint down to a well-paced jog, purposely allowing the now sluggish Lexaeus to gradually catch up to him. "Let's see it's now 10:30 a.m. which means…" _

"_Urgh!" Lexaeus sputtered and fell to the ground as a pile of trash bombarded the man from the upper floor of an apartment. _

'_Heheh, Cid tosses out his junk at this time.' Vanitas clarified inside his head. He flashed Lexaeus a triumphant grin once he saw the man's head pop out from under a torn up cereal box. "Good look for you. You should tell your boss to change up your uniform!" Vanitas jeered before leaving the man behind. _

'_That outta teach 'im.' Vanitas told himself smugly, putting a boost to his ego; however the sudden grumbling in his stomach reminded him he hadn't anything to eat, especially since his noodle bowl plan failed to bear fruit. "Maybe granny'll have something. Heck even candy would be fine." _

_With the happy thought of something to fill his belly, Vanitas wasted no time commuting to Radiant Wishes Candy Shop where as expected; Mr. Tabby was lazily sprawled over the counter of the shop window. "Hey furball, where's granny?" Vanitas asked as he peered through the shop window, yet the cat paid no attention to the young man. _

"_Vanitas!" Granny's voice cried out from the back room causing Vanitas to flinch. The door flew open revealing an upset looking granny. The creases on her forehead and frown on her face told Vanitas she must have heard about his brawl. _

"_Look granny, I can explain…" Vanitas attempted slowly, however granny wouldn't hear it; it was after all becoming a common thing for Vanitas to get into trouble. _

"_Vanitas…" granny said with a sigh, "…you can't continue getting into fights like this." She lectured the boy who immediately clicked his tongue and averted his gaze. "Look at me when I'm talking to you young man." Granny ordered much like a parent. _

"_They started it." Vanitas countered and kicked a pebble close to his feet. _

"_What of the shoplifting?" _

_The boy remained silent. _

"_Well—?"_

"_I was hungry!" Vanitas shouted and glared at granny. It was one of the rare times he ever raised his voice at her and he knew it too when he saw the look of shock on her face. _

_The old woman took a moment to recover and then shook her head with sympathy. "You are a good boy Vanitas. Come now, would Aqua want—"_

_The trigger name._

"_Quiet!" Vanitas shouted and stumbled back a few paces. "Y-You… you're just like those officers." _

"_Vanitas no, I didn't mean for—"_

"_Just be quiet! I get it! No one wants me! I'm a disappointment! That's why Aqua left right?! Her father didn't want her or her brothers having anything to do with me! The work excuse was just a convenient way for them to leave!" _

"_Vanitas…" _

"_I get the picture." Vanitas finished and stormed off with Xehanort's words echoing in his head and upon instinct, he ran towards the eerie institute perched upon the northern hill of Radiant Gardens, as if a voice was calling out to him from there. He knew it was the building where Lexaeus clocked in for his job as well as the building where old man Xehanort was addressed as "boss." _

_A sudden downpour pelted Vanitas with a battalion of raindrops. 'Always the rain.' Vanitas told himself as he continued to run towards the towering building. He refused to acknowledge it and convinced himself that the tears streaming down his face were nothing more than raindrops. 'Aqua…' The pounding of his shoes against pavement accompanied the erratic beat of his heart, but the sound was soon drowned out by his shoes splashing over rapidly forming puddles. The feeling of isolation was nearing its tipping point. He didn't __**know**__, but __**felt**__ the Darkness closing in. _

'_Open your heart to the Darkness Vanitas.'_

_By the time Vanitas came clambering up the stone steps leading up to the castle-like institute he was exhausted and out of breath. He slowly dragged his feet up to the giant doors of the building where Lexaeus and Xaldin patiently waited. _

"_The boss has been expecting you." Lexaeus told the boy in a matter-of-fact tone and stepped aside allowing the doors to open revealing a flood of light to bathe the boy. However the light wasn't welcoming. It never seemed to welcome Vanitas._

"_I knew you would seek me out." The familiar hoarse voice echoed as Xehanort came into view._

**-D-Link-**

"Ever since he entered that institute, it seems he's had trouble with his memories. Those not admitted to the institute aren't disclosed information and those admitted are not allowed to talk about it." Granny finished her tale with a heavy sigh. Everyone remained silent for a moment; Terra and Ven shot Aqua a look of concern, but saw her eyes were transfixed upon the flames of the fireplace. Her hands were trembling.

"Hey." Terra placed a reassuring hand over her shoulder and she immediately felt the warm Light of his presence. "What happened wasn't your fault alright?" Terra said as if he read Aqua's mind.

"But it's…" Aqua started but was silenced when Ven placed his hands over hers ceasing their trembling. The warmth from his hands was comforting, just as Terra's.

"It couldn't be helped; after all, dad did in fact have work stuff to do." Ven furrowed his brow and crossed his arms, "Still that seems really shady… why hasn't anyone investigated the institute granny?"

The elderly woman shook her head and picked Mr. Tabby up off the ground who had been rubbing against the chair. "The man who runs it has a lot of power. Some could say he runs Radiant Gardens. Rumor has it, he knows your father."

Aqua shared a muddled look with her brothers. "Why would dad be acquainted with such a person?"

Terra shook his head and rubbed the tip of his chin with his hand. "I dunno… but it looks like we have some questions for dad tonight."

Ven suddenly jolted up and frowned at Terra, "Wait does that mean—!"

"Afraid so." Terra responded with a solemn smile and brought his hand down over Ven's head and ruffled his windswept spikes. "Looks like we'll have to take a rain check on checking out Scrooge's Disney Emporium."

"Aww man…" Ven sighed and stared at carpeted floor. "I was hoping to enter that lottery for those Disney Town tickets."

Aqua stood up and tilted Ven's head up. "Don't frown at me now little Ven-Ven." She teased in a motherly voice.

Ven blushed and pouted at Aqua. "Don't call me that!"

Aqua giggled and turned her attention to Terra. "You two go on and check out the emporium. All of us don't need to ask dad after all. I can do it. No need for me to spoil the fun, 'kay?"

Terra took a step forward to protest, "But—!"

"No!" Ven suddenly raised his voice.

"Ven?"

"It wouldn't be the same without Aqua. It's all or nothing with us." Ven clarified with a bright smile.

Aqua and Terra stared at their younger brother expecting him to be extremely upset, however, the optimistic way he viewed things was a surprise to all of them and they were glad to be wrong. Aqua gave her younger brother a warm smile and gave him a peck on the forehead. "Thanks Ven, you're sweet."

"Gahhhh!" Ven squirmed and rubbed the area Aqua's lips touched with the back of his hand. "You're embarrassing me!" He shouted earning a lively chuckle from granny.

"You all really haven't changed." The old woman said with a smile.

"Guess not… _granny_." Terra said clearly, finally acknowledging that he wasn't a stuffy adult. He shared a grin with his siblings, when suddenly; a vibrating sound reverberated inside the man's pocket. Terra immediately dug his hand inside said pocket and quickly produced a phone. "Hello? Dad? Yeah… she was granny… uh huh… yeah sure… no worries, we'll be there soon, we decided to cancel the emporium for today…" Terra shot Ven a proud smile causing the blonde to scratch the back of his head and respond with a goofy grin that made Aqua laugh. "…alright, I'll tell him. Alright, see ya then dad."

"Was it dad?" Aqua asked sarcastically causing Terra to roll his eyes.

"Dad says he's sorry for hearing about the cancellation and is wondering why. He also has a lecture waiting for you Aqua." He notified the woman causing her to groan. "Guess that means it's our cue to leave for now." Terra told granny.

The old woman smiled, nodded and then rose from her chair and walked to the far end of the room where a single jar rested between several books on a smooth dark wooden shelf. After unscrewing the top of the container, she handed each of the three siblings a Starry Sky Drop neatly wrapped in paper of their favorite color: Aqua's, a calm shade of azure, Terra's an earthy sunset orange and Ven's a vibrant green.

"Awesome! Our favorites!" Ven exclaimed and held his piece up to Aqua soon followed by Terra.

The woman nodded sharing the young man's enthusiasm. "Just like our—" She paused as a memory of her crafting a lucky charm for Vanitas flashed in her head. "Wayfinders." She finally finished referring to the lucky charms she had made for her siblings and herself.

Granny closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. _'Perhaps they can all make you remember Vanitas. Especially…'_ When granny opened her eyes, she turned to Aqua with a hopeful look on her face.

"Alright granny, we'll see you again soon." Aqua said and offered granny a hug which she gladly took. Aqua was surprised at how small granny seemed yet how warm her Light was; before she used to sink into granny's apron when she gave her a hug as a kid, now she was taller than granny.

"Oh, you boys come here now too." Granny coaxed Terra and Ven over with her hand and easily won the embarrassed hugs of the older boys too.

The three siblings waved goodbye to granny and started heading back to their house just as the sun began to set on the horizon.

Aqua wrapped her fingers around her Starry Sky Drop and held it close to her chest. _'I'll help you remember.' _Just as the three rounded the corner, Aqua came to a sudden halt. "Oh wait! Forgot to ask granny something, I'll be back guys!" She informed her now confused brothers before taking off back towards the candy shop.

**-D-Link- **

"Hey thanks again for the food Van!" Seifer called out to the dark haired man with a sandwich locked between his lips before he, Fuu and Rai sped away on their bikes.

"No… problem." Vanitas said without emotion and sighed as he watched Fuu disappear around a corner behind Seifer. "Guess she still doesn't remember." The man stared off into the distance at the setting sun momentarily and then shook his head. "I've got to keep trying. Like the _Master_ said, I've got to keep at it, and then maybe… maybe our memories will return together."

The young man walked over to his motorcycle, propped himself down on the seat and took a moment to stare into his empty wallet. "Ack!" A sharp pain suddenly shot through his head and he saw himself stuffing noodle bowls into a hoodie he was wearing, but as quickly as the memory appeared, it fizzled out. "Stupid—! I can't even tell if these flashbacks are real or not anymore. That idiot Vexen must be screwing up my meds or something." Feeling frustrated, bitter and hungry, Vanitas hit the kickstand of his bike and brought the vehicle to life with one dragged out turn of the ignition. "Guess I'm having fruits and… veggies… for dinner tonight." He murmured with disgust and sped away with his apartment as his set destination in his head. _'Maybe I can drown the taste away with salt or something.' _The man contemplated several ways to "cook" veggies into making them taste better as he entered the apartment parking lot and was set on his salt method when his train of thought was interrupted by an individual standing by the steps to his complex. Short blue hair and deep azure eyes. Vanitas slowly approached the young woman at the base of the steps ignoring his pounding head.

Once she caught sight of him she smiled, "Hey there stranger."

**-D-Link-**

"G-Granny?" Aqua panted as she tried to catch her breath after sprinting back to the candy store. "Where does Van live?"

**End Chapter**


	5. Starting Again with Bluebird

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

Xethear: Thanks once again to the readers and reviewers! Here is the next chapter and like always, feelings about the chapter is very much appreciated.

**Chapter V: Starting Again with Bluebird **

Vanitas's steps grew even shakier with each step he took towards the familiar woman. His headache was beginning to drive him insane and just when he about passed out from the pain, he fell forward and saw the woman run towards him with her arms open.

"_I can't believe you were outside playing in this kind of weather!" Aqua scolded a red nosed Vanitas as he sneezed towards the carpet of the living room. Thunder boomed outside as if Aqua had cued its entrance and rain continued to pound the rooftop. _

"_Oh c'mon Aqua, it was the perfect time to go check out the flooded waterways!" Ven attempted to defend his friend but was in a similar sickly condition, evident to his sniffling and mountain of used tissues on the floor. _

_Aqua's eyes narrowed into a glare and she draped a blanket over the shivering boy. "I don't want to hear it!" She snapped furiously. _

"_We were just out exploring Aqua; it's not a big deal." Vanitas murmured stubbornly as Aqua threw a towel over the boy's damp, dark locks. _

"_Quiet!" Aqua turned to Terra who had attempted to sneak out of the room. "And where were you mister?! You were supposed to be the one in charge, being the eldest and all!"_

_Terra's body quickly went rigid, "A-Ahaha, well funny story…" _

"_He was distracted by a Struggle Battle." Vanitas snitched on the man with a mischievous grin." _

_Aqua placed her hands on her hips, "Huh?! A Struggle Battle? You let these two wander around the waterways alone for a Struggle Battle?!" _

_Terra looked taken aback, "V-Van!" He hissed, "What was that for?!" Vanitas shrugged and yanked a tissue out from a box before loudly blowing his nose into the soft, absorbent paper. "To be fair, I told them to wait while I check it out!" The panic in Terra's voice was evident as the eldest boy attempted to defend himself. _

_Aqua released a frustrated sigh and placed her hand on her forehead. "You three are too much…" She said with a shake of her head. "You're lucky I don't tell dad or—"_

"_Tell me what?" A rough, gravelly voice asked as the silhouette of a man appeared at the front door. _

"_Eek!" Aqua squealed at the sudden sound of her and her brothers' father's voice. _

_The man stepped into the light of the living room revealing a light tanned face graced with a dark mustache and pointed soul patch. His long black hair was pulled back and held up in a spiky ponytail revealing his sharp brow arched up with curiosity at the conversation he had just come home to. _

"_H-Hey dad!" Terra greeted his father nervously. _

"_Hi dad!" Ven exclaimed trying to hide his cold, but failed to do so when he broke out in a fit of coughing. _

"_Welcome back from work." Aqua said as she handed Ven a glass of water. _

"_Hmm…" The man hummed suspiciously as he eyed each of his fidgety kids. His eyes grew even more wary when he locked onto Vanitas who refused to meet the man's stare. "Hello Vanitas." He greeted the troubled looking boy plainly. _

"_Master… Eraqus." Vanitas replied softly with a small bow of his head. The boy was always hesitant to go to Aqua's house because he always felt he was being judged by his father. He always felt like a stranger in the household. To make matters worse he suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy. _

"_What happened here?" Eraqus asked his children after noting the obvious degradation in their health. _

"_W-Well… I…" Aqua started to formulate an excuse to defend the reckless boys but was interrupted by Vanitas. _

"_It was my fault sir, I'm sorry." He told the stoic man and stood up causing the light blue blanket around his shoulders to fall to the floor. _

"_Hmm?" Eraqus hummed again. _

"_I wanted to see what the waterways looked like in this kind of weather. I've heard they get flooded and things wash up along the area from all around town." Vanitas kept his head down, refusing to look Eraqus in the eyes. "I got Ven and Terra to come with me. Aqua said not to but I didn't listen. I'm… sorry." The young boy finished and removed the towel on his head and handed it to a shocked looking Aqua. "I'll just be on my way now." He murmured softly and headed towards the door. _

"_Van wait—" Aqua started towards Vanitas but stopped in her tracks when Eraqus stopped the boy himself by placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. _

"_No one should be out in this kind of weather." Eraqus told the boy in his father like manner. "Sit. Come Aqua; let's make some soup for these reckless fools." _

_A smile graced Aqua's face and she immediately ran towards the kitchen, "Right!" She gave Vanitas a small wink as she ran passed him causing his face to turn red. _

"_And I expect the whole __**truth**__ later." The intuitive man glared at Terra and Ven. "Am I clear?"_

"_Y-Yes sir!" The two siblings replied with a salute to their father. _

"_Am I clear?" The man repeated to Vanitas. _

"_Yes… sir." The boy murmured softly, feeling warmth in the household for the first time ever. _

_The young boy then rushed into the kitchen to watch how the soup was prepared and grimaced when he saw Aqua chopping up vegetables. Each time the knife sliced through a carrot and met with the cutting board a somewhat loud "thwack" could be heard causing Vanitas to wince. "Y-You're not putting veggies in the soup right Aqua?" _

_The young girl flashed a sinister grin at the anxious looking boy and shook her head and placed her warm hand over the boy's dark spikes. Vanitas sighed with relief, but his reprieve was suspended upon false hope. "I'm putting all the veggies in your portion!"_

"_HUHHHH?!" _

"_It's punishment!" Aqua scolded and crossed her arms. _

"_Y-You're so weird!" Vanitas countered back with a stutter, unable to come up with a better comeback from the shock of all the veggies. The boy quickly ran back into the living room and shouted, "Guys, Aqua is putting veggies in the soup!" _

_The symphony of exclamations and groans which followed soon after caused both Aqua and her father to share hearty laughs together. _

"Nngh…" Vanitas stirred in his sleep, when suddenly, his eyes shot open. The familiar monotone color of his ceiling soon came into focus as he woke from his slumber. His head was still pounding, but with less intensity than before. He tried to recall the dream he just had, but it was no use. As his senses returned to him he soon found out that a damp washcloth had been placed over his forehead. "What… the…" He rose up weakly, removed the cloth from his forehead and sat in an upright position causing the blanket over his body to fall to his waist. He soon discovered he was shirtless and even more surprising, in his boxers.

"_Hmm, hm hmmm hm hmmm…_" The sound of soft humming coming from the kitchen caused Vanitas to summon his Keyblade. _'Whoever you are, you're gonna pay for humiliating me like this and breaking into my home.'_

Vanitas sneaked under the wooden countertop which separated the kitchen from the living room and tightened his grip around his Keyblade.

"_Hm hmmm, hm hm hm hm hm hmmmm._" The melodic hum grew in volume as Vanitas drew closer to the intruder. He thanked his carpeted floors for masking his footsteps granting him with the element of surprise. He hugged the smooth wooden wall of the countertop and crept around the divider with the utmost care. Once the shadow of the intruder drew closer to him he immediately leapt out of his hiding place.

"HYAHH!"

"KYA—!"

A loud crash resounded in the kitchen soon followed by a loud thump as Vanitas crashed towards the floor over his target. "Alright, who are you and what are you doing in— gah!" In an unexpected turn of events for the young man, he was quickly toppled over, straddled and was face to face with the pointed tip of an azure Keyblade. "H-How the heck..?" He looked passed the blade and into the wielder's eyes – they were experience which had the experience of fighting Heartless engraved into them and they were painfully nostalgic.

The woman's serious face soon came into view but surprisingly, her focus was quickly lost and was replaced by a blush. "I-I'm sorry! It was instinct!" She attempted to explain and dispelled her Keyblade in a flurry of small twinkling lights.

Vanitas eyed her appearance carefully. She wore a mint green sweater lined with vertical stripes and he noted that her sleeves were rolled up. He couldn't help but naughtily comment in his mind that the stripes really highlighted her chest. His eyes wandered down to her lower body and he saw she wore black spats that ended halfway down her thighs and dark stockings which covered the rest of her lower half, save for a small part of her thighs where the spats and stockings failed to meet. To make matters more awkward, she was positioned just above his boxers. "Hey now, I find you sexy and all but, mind getting off me now?" Vanitas asked boldly.

"Huh? Wha—?" Aqua quickly realized that she was on top of a nearly naked Vanitas and quickly leapt off the man. "I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized as her face became flushed. "I couldn't exactly leave you there in wet clothes and you were close to running a fever so— do you want some soup?!" Aqua spun around and let out a cry of distress when she saw the bowl of soup she prepared for Vanitas lying in pieces in the sink. She had dropped it when the man surprised her. "Oh… I— sorry, I— nghh!"

Vanitas had to admit, the woman's flustered rambling was amusing. Strangely enough, he didn't mind being in his underwear in front of this person and rather enjoyed the awkward way she approached things but decided he would spare her from anymore embarrassment and entered his room without another word.

"Huh?" Aqua stared at the door of the man's room for a moment and shook her head. '_Another bowl._' She told herself in her head and quickly tidied up the mess in the sink.

Soon, Vanitas came back into the room wearing a fresh pair of black sweats and a dark t-shirt with the silhouette of a beast looming over a bright red rose on it. Aqua turned to face the man and saw him leaning against the wall, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Umm…"

"Where did you get it?" Vanitas asked without warning resulting in a confused head tilt from Aqua. The impatient young man sighed and shook his head. He held out his right hand towards the woman and quickly closed his fingers causing his Keyblade to appear in the palm of his hand in a brilliant blink of white and black light. "Do you work for the _Master_ as well?"

Aqua, finally understanding what the amnesiac man was referring too, jolted up and shook her head. "Ahh! No, I'm afraid not." She answered honestly despite knowing fragments about the man Vanitas referred to as "Master." "I train under a Keyblade form from another _Master_."

"Keyblade form huh..?" Vanitas took a step forward and pointed his Keyblade towards Aqua's chest. "Well I'm self-taught. C'mon bring it out, let's see what you got."

"What?! No I couldn't—!"

'_The old man never told me about new Keyblade wielders in town. Come to think of it… this is probably the first time I've seen another person with a Keyblade._' "If you won't attack, I will!" Vanitas cried out and charged at Aqua. He raised his Keyblade into the air, ready to strike at his unarmed opponent when suddenly his vision went blurry. He stumbled forward and dropped his Keyblade causing it to flash away once it hit the floor and he fell into Aqua's arms.

"Are you alright?" Vanitas helped the man over to the countertop where the steaming bowl of soup rested and handed the man a spoon. "Eat. It'll make you feel better."

"Nghh... Alright… what do you want in return?"

"Pardon?" Aqua asked sounding completely clueless.

A vein pulsed across Vanitas's brow, "You took care of me and now I owe you right?!" He clarified angrily.

Aqua blinked innocently, "No?" She responded sounding genuinely confused. "I don't expect anything in return."

"Cut the crap!" Vanitas fumed, "You expect me to believe that?! Everyone expects to be repaid somehow!"

Aqua strengthened her reasoning with a shake of her head. "No. I did it because I wanted to is all. I don't expect any form of payment whatsoever." She repeated without wavering and sat down on the couch.

Vanitas, having experienced very little forms of genuine acts of kindness was at a standstill. He didn't know how to respond to the foreign response the familiar stranger was giving him. So instead of answering back, he simply sat down and stared at the woman. Aqua fidgeted on the couch and twiddled her thumbs around one another. She could feel his heavy gaze loom over her and it made her feel nervous. "You know…" He finally spoke after torturing her with silence. "…you're pretty weird." He finished bluntly and took a slurp of his soup.

Aqua sat still for a moment and then broke out in soft laughter. "You really are still Van deep down in there." She murmured under her breath and placed her hand over her chest. "Oh right!" She exclaimed as a thought occurred to her. "I haven't introduced myself, I'm A—"

"Bluebird." Vanitas interjected almost automatically causing Aqua to stumble over her words.

"H-Huh?"

"Bluebird." Vanitas repeated just before he downed his soup. He finished the last portion with a gulp and slammed his bowl down onto the countertop and sighed. "You were singing when I woke up and your hair is blue; figured it fit well."

"B-Bluebird..?" Aqua repeated the nickname granted to her by her childhood friend and felt a faint fluttering in her chest. Her name was so short that she had never received a nickname before, so though it was given to her unbeknownst to him she found great value in the name. "Bluebird… Bluebird… Bluebird..?" Aqua repeated the nickname several times and then giggled.

Vanitas raised his brow finding the woman's behavior slightly strange. "You sound like a broken record."

Aqua scratched her cheek and laughed, "Ahaha… sorry about that. It just… made me happy." She mumbled the last few words of her sentence causing more curiosity to arise within Vanitas. '_To think the kids back then used to make fun of my hair and call me weird… but coming from Van, it sounds kind of… playful._'

"Huh?" He cupped his hand over his ear.

"Nothing!" Aqua responded swiftly.

Vanitas shrugged and rose from his seat and ladled more soup into his bowl, veggies, broth and all. "Whatever. Anyways, I'm Vani—"

"—TAS!" Aqua shouted without warning causing Vanitas to jump and spill a portion of the soup on the countertop.

"What's gotten into y— gah!"

"_**TAS! Vani-TAS! Not just Vani! Sheesh, get it right!"**_

"_**I-I'll… r...mem…!"**_

Two voices rung inside Vanitas's head, one of them he recognized as his own, but the other seemed to fizzle out. He fell forward and propped himself up with one arm over the counter as he grew lightheaded again. His legs began to feel like jelly and he would have fell to the floor if not for Aqua's quick reflexes.

The agile young woman cartwheeled over the couch and caught the man before he fell. She brought one of his arms over his neck and held him up with one arm around his waist and another arm pressed against his chest.

Again Vanitas felt a familiar sense of warmth. "Don't… expect anything in return… for this." The man said weakly sticking true to his set of beliefs.

"Yeah yeah." Aqua muttered sounding slightly downcast and helped Vanitas over to his room. Thankfully, Vanitas didn't close the door when he came out with his new change of clothes, he simply closed it partway so Aqua was able to push it open with her foot.

A wave of melancholy swept over Aqua as she gazed at the monotone shade of grey. It wasn't just the living room, it seemed like a presence of stagnant air encompassed the entire apartment and Vanitas. Someone trapped in between the line dividing Light and Darkness. _'We need to fix this room up.'_ Aqua noted in her head before lying Vanitas down in his bed. "Just take it easy and drink lots of fluids, alright?" Aqua advised the man as she brought the blanket over him.

"Tch…" Vanitas growled and brought the covers over his face.

A small smile graced Aqua's face as she reminisced when Vanitas would throw tantrums as a kid. "I'll be going now." She informed him before exiting his room. She shut the door as quietly as she could and went to pick up her things when she caught something out of the corners of her eyes – the bowl of soup Vanitas had practically licked cleaned. "It must have been good if I could get you to eat veggies." Aqua congratulated herself softly, and jotted a quick note down for Vanitas before she gathered her things and then left the apartment, excited to tell her brothers the news.

Vanitas peered out his window and watched as Aqua rounded a corner and disappeared behind several other buildings. "Fly away Bluebird."

**-D-Link-**

"So he really doesn't remember you huh?" Terra commented absentmindedly as he narrowly dodged Ven's Keyblade with a back step. The man harnessed the power of Light into his right arm and charged his large Keyblade with electricity and leapt towards Ven and brought his weapon down onto his brother.

Rather than going with his usual aspect of evasion, Ven decided to defend against the strike and held his Keyblade over his head – an action he soon found to be a mistake as his body went completely stiff. "Gah! _Binding Strike_?!"

Terra stood up tall in his training outfit – a black, skin tight shirt – which highlighted his toned features — and red cross straps over his chest. The obi-sash fitting his khaki hakama to his waist was equipped with a gold badge in the shape of a heart serving as the fourth point of a star. One of the most distinct features of his outfit was the large gauntlet which covered three fourths of the man's left arm. At the peak of his gauntlet (right on the man's shoulder) was a circular node embedded into the piece of armor – something he shared with his siblings – just the size of the man's fist. "Gotta keep an eye out for these things Ven." Terra said with a laugh.

"And you need to pay attention to other people, especially during a conversation." Aqua said with dissatisfaction and shot a fireball from the point of her Keyblade making direct contact with Terra's back. She knew when her brother's mind was set to "automatic answer mode" during a conversation because he always answered with a repeat of the last statement he heard.

"Guahhh!" Terra sputtered as he fell to the ground. "Jeez… you and your magic. Mind casting _Cure_ on me?"

Aqua scratched the back of her head and spun around, "I haven't… really gotten that one down yet."

Terra shared a glance with Ven before both brothers broke out in a unison "Eh?!"

"So you can dish out hurt but can't heal it?!" Ven summarized in disbelief.

Aqua blushed and gave her brothers a nod.

"And here I thought I was in the clear…" Terra winced as pain shot through his back. "I can't believe you haven't gotten to the _Cure_ chapter."

Aqua crossed her arms and huffed, "You can't complain, you're terrible with magic you big knuckle head! But enough about that! What do you guys think? Will we be able to get Van's memory back?"

Ven dispelled his Keyblade and raised his arms towards the ceiling as he slowly began to gain feeling in them after Terra's attack began to wear off. "I'm all for it! I want Van to remember us again after all!"

"Awesome!" Aqua exclaimed and gave her younger brother a hug and ruffled his hair. "I knew I could count on you Ven!"

The youngest sibling blushed and struggled to break free of Aqua's embrace. "Ahh! Jeez, you can let go now sis!" He whined as he flailed around.

"What about you Terra? Want to help?" Aqua asked straightforwardly despite knowing Terra's resentment towards Vanitas due to what had happened in the past.

"I don't like it." Terra confessed bluntly as he dispelled his Keyblade. "But someone has to keep an eye on you two, so I guess I'll stick around to supervise and step in if he tries anything funny."

Aqua smiled, satisfied with Terra's complicated answer of simply saying "I'll help" and she coaxed him over with a wave of her hand to join in the group hug.

Terra took a step back, "I think I'll pass."

His answer caused Aqua to gently release Ven and glare at the man with her arms open. "Get over here and accept this hug Terra!"

"Not a chance! I don't want to be suffocated!" Terra shouted and took off running out of the training room.

"Get back here!" Aqua commanded and ran after the eldest sibling.

Meanwhile, Ven was panting on his knees as he tried to ease in air into his lungs after Aqua's crushing hug. "Guh… sis… you're strong… even without your Keyblade."

**-D-Link- **

Vanitas awoke the next morning feeling surprisingly well; after his annoying headache prevalent just yesterday, as well as the cold, rainy weather, he was sure he might have fallen sick. He turned his head and gazed out the window and saw some grey clouds in the sky, along with some radiant rays of sunlight piercing through the fluffy veil revealing patches of blue sky. "…better get ready for work." Vanitas said unenthusiastically and kicked the covers off his body. He steadily rose up from his bed, suspicious that if he made any sudden movements that his headache would return but after a moment of sitting silently on the mattress he found that all was well.

The man swung his legs off the bed and made his way towards the restroom to start his daily morning routine of washing his face and brushing his teeth. After sticking his toothbrush in his mouth, the man walked out of the restroom and entered the living room to find a note positioned by the pot of stew Aqua had made for him last night.

_Morning Vanitas, _

_Feel free to eat as much as you want. There's still quite a bit leftover. Enjoy!_

_P.S. – Hope you don't mind, but I put those fruits and veggies in your bag in the fridge._

_-Bluebird_

Vanitas stared at the note and secretly commended the woman's neat penmanship before crumpling up the piece of paper and tossing it into the trash bin only to have it bounce off the rim and land on the floor. Feeling lazy, the man decided to properly discard it later. He then lifted the lid of the pot as he continued to brush his teeth and saw that it was still filled about halfway with the light brown broth and vegetables floating in the mix. He quickly ladled himself a bowl and stuffed it in the microwave before running back to the restroom to spit out the sharp minty sting of the toothpaste that began to build on his tongue.

Once the matter of hygiene was complete, Vanitas returned to the kitchen and poured the serving of stew into a thermos to keep the meal warm as he had little time to dawdle else he'd face the horde of freelancers at the job board once again. Once out of his "pajamas" and into his work gear, Vanitas stuffed the thermos into his pack, grabbed his motorcycle helmet and went on his way.

Vanitas cut through patches of sparkling puddles reflecting the rays of sun piercing through the clouds as he sped down the road causing drops of water to fly around haphazardly. All the while he drove he thought of the strange woman that had taken care of him the previous night. '_She must want something back from me. No way she did that just because she wanted to._' Vanitas couldn't simply bring himself to trust anyone right away.

A breath of fresh air entered his lungs as he removed his helmet after parking his bike on the curb by Radiant Wishes. He had arrived at his destination half an hour than his usual time and the positive consequences enabled him to browse through the board at a leisurely pace since all other competitors were nowhere in sight. "Hmm… delivery… entertainment… bee infestation… where are the dispatch missions?" Vanitas flipped through the tattered pages stapled to the board and tried to find the Heartless combat missions he usually took on, but soon found that there were none.

"Looking for this?"

Vanitas jolted up and slowly turned his head and saw Aqua holding up a piece of paper that read "Darkball infestation, urgent! Please help! Reward: 500 munny" up to his face.

Vanitas immediately snagged the paper from the woman's hands and looked at the reward in disbelief. "N-No way… where did you get this?!"

"Good morning to you too." Aqua said with a roll of her eyes and took the paper back from the man. "Got here early." She explained as she rolled up the paper and stuffed it inside her coat.

"Sorry to say, but the monsters listed on that job can only be taken out with—"

"A Keyblade?" Aqua finished and summoned her said weapon and twirled it around like a baton displaying her adept reflexes. She finished her small showcase by tossing the Keyblade in the air, followed by an aerial cartwheel and then catching the sword right before her boots touched the ground. She turned to Vanitas and gave him an innocent smile and laughed.

Vanitas having momentarily forgotten the new Keyblade wielder in town sighed. "First my home, now your intruding in on my jobs? What next Bluebird?"

Aqua felt a soft flutter in her chest recalling Vanitas giving her, her first nickname. "Well…" She crossed her arms and paced around the small empty lot at the side of the candy store. "…if you ask nicely, I can let you come with me on this job and split the profit." Aqua tried her best to mask her rehearsed lines. The idea to go on a job with Vanitas in hopes of triggering his memory somehow was formulated by granny, her brothers and herself. She had been anxious all morning, waiting for the man to appear on the horizon so that she could relieve the pent of nerves building inside of her. She stood still and kept a serious look about her face, awaiting Vanitas's reply in torturing silence.

Vanitas too, crossed his arms and stared at the woman. After about a minute of silence, the man finally walked up to the job board and tore a delivery request off the rusty nail it was tacked up with. "Not buying it." He said harshly and shot Aqua a glare. "I'm not risking any more favors to be held accountable for."

Aqua couldn't believe her ears, "But I—"

"Besides…" Vanitas stuffed the request in the front pocket of his jacket as he walked passed Aqua. "I work better alone." He murmured to her before mounting his motorcycle.

"Now wait a minute!" Terra burst through the doors of the candy shop and stormed towards Vanitas. "What's with that attitude? Someone is trying to help you out and this is how you repay them?"

Vanitas took a moment to register the man's face in his head. He knew he had recognized the broad, strong features of the man before him sometime before. The memory was fuzzy, but just before it came into better resolution in Vanitas's head he recalled the most recent memory he had of interacting with the familiar stranger. Vanitas grit his teeth and thrust his hand forward and grabbed the collar of Terra's shirt. "You're the inconsiderate jerk who almost cost me a job!" He shoved Terra back and summoned his Keyblade completely disregarding the rules he had applied to himself to only use the weapon during jobs. It was a strange feeling, a sense of familiar Light radiated inside the man coaxing Vanitas's instinctive battle nature to step forward. '_This Light… it's like Bluebird's._'

"Oh? So you want to fight?" Terra stood up tall and summoned his imposing Keyblade forward. "Now you're speaking my language… come on!" Terra taunted.

Vanitas growled and ran at the man and swung his Keyblade causing the shadowy blade to clash with dark bronze. The two men were at a standstill as they pushed against one another trying to make the other cede. For a moment, it looked as if they were an even match, until Terra took a step forward and then another.

Vanitas couldn't believe his eyes. He looked up and was met with a confident smirk from the tall man. "That all you got?" He taunted yet again.

"Shut up!" Vanitas snapped causing a blackish mist to swirl around his Keyblade giving him an extra burst of power enabling him to knock Terra back.

Terra flew several meters away, but quickly recovered and landed on his feet. '_The Darkness!_' Terra shook his head dispelling the lingering negative effects of the Darkness away and grunted with disgust. "Such a foul Darkness."

"Stop this now!" Aqua ordered wishing no harm to befall either of the two.

"Yeah! Stop!" Ven reinforced his sister's wishes as he burst through the candy shop as well. "Come on guys, you're friends! Friends don't fight like this."

"Ven! Out of the way! I'm going to teach this jerk a lesson!"

"You're the inconsiderate jerk!" Vanitas shouted back and prepared for his next attack.

Terra quickly shoved Ven out of harm's way and swung his Keyblade forward to match Vanitas's strike, however both attacks were halted by a glimmering wall of thin glass.

"_Reflect._" Aqua sighed softly. She was positioned between the two Keyblades, keeping them from touching by the brilliant wall she had produced with both her hands. With one fluid motion, she dispelled the barrier sending the two men flying back as well as shards of the "glass" to fly about erratically before vanishing into twinkling lights.

"I really need to counter that magic of yours." Terra replied sounding slightly defeated while Ven helped him up.

Aqua shook her head still feeling bitter by having the two men disobey her wishes for a ceasefire. She quickly walked up to the downed Vanitas and offered him her hand which he quickly swatted away.

"I don't know what kind of goody-two-shoes game you're playing at… but I'll tell you this now. Stay away from me." Vanitas said in a low threatening voice which constricted Aqua's heart.

Aqua clutched her chest and bit down on her lower lip, "Vanitas, I—"

"JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Vanitas blurted out in confusion and anger and ran to his motorcycle.

"He really doesn't recognize us…" Ven said softly and hung his head down.

Aqua could only stand in silence and watch as the man sped away and disappeared into the distance. '_How did you become so distrusting Van? What happened while I was away?_'

**End Chapter **


End file.
